Ghostly Double
by ReasonToBe
Summary: A doppelgänger (/ˈdɒpəlˌɡɛŋər/ or /-ˌɡæŋər/; German: [ˈdɔpl ˌɡɛŋɐ] ( listen), literally "double-goer") is a look-alike or double of a living person, sometimes portrayed as a ghostly or paranormal phenomenon and usually seen as a harbinger of bad luck. True Rating: MA Strong language.
1. Chapter 1

**GHOSTLY DOUBLE**

 **PREFACE**

* * *

 _ **I was supposed**_ to be sitting here typing away at my laptop, putting my words into a book I wanted to publish one day. For some reason, I couldn't figure out where to start. Was "Once Upon a Time" even a good start for what I was going to write about?

It's supposed to be about my life; about what led me to where I am today. To you, you'll be reading fiction. I have to tell it as if it were a fairy tale. I have no choice because not everyone knows what I now know. To this day, I can hardly believe my life's the way it is. I keep thinking I'll wake up one morning and roll over to an empty space next to me. My day would turn out boring and without noise beating against my ears for thirteen hours a day.

I'd probably have the most boring job there is on the planet and come home to fifteen cats and fur balls fluttering across the floor from closing my door when I came home. I've been told you could save your animals hair and send it to a company that could make it into a blanket.

That's just gross; not gonna happen with this chick.

Nope.

My life is far from boring, but that's neither here nor there, so I guess you'll just have to stick with me to find out how I got to be where I am today. You'll definitely think I'm lying, but far from it. It all started when I was sixteen. My thirty-first birthday was just around the corner and all I can think about is where it all started.

Forks, Washington fifteen years ago.


	2. Chapter 2

**Don't know how I got this screwed up.**

 **Re-post 2/13/18 I'll check the editing later.**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 2**

 **BPOV**

* * *

Anthony Mason was the sexy new guy at the beginning of my Sophomore year, but I knew something that no one else knew except for one other person.

I had already met Anthony over the summer. We'd met at the public library. I'd only been home three days before I jumped into the rest of my list of books I was supposed to read. I had four remaining and two weeks to get them done before school started.

My guidance counselor gave me an opportunity for a quick way out, so I took it. The more extra credit and advanced classes I took, I'd be able to graduate a year early. The list of twenty books was part of my graduation goal. For each book, I had to write a five hundred word essay about what I read. All that credit was being put toward my AP English Lit class.

At fifteen, I'd probably read more books than most adults in the small town I lived in. My dad says I got my smartness from him and my mom says she's the reason. Any good thing I accomplished, they were both trying to take the credit.

So, there I sat with the four books I needed and with one in my hands that I started to read. I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings until I felt like I was being watched. That's when I looked up and noticed a guy sitting across from me at my own table. I didn't even realize someone had sat down. He was just sitting there staring. "Can I help you?"

He smiled a devilish smile at me. "I'm Anthony." He extended his hand to me. "I was in here a couple of days ago and noticed you."

"Bella," I said as I shook his hand. "I apologize, but I didn't see you."

"I was sitting over there." He pointed to a corner that had a few plush chairs arranged around a coffee table to make for a more comfortable reading experience.

His hand was smooth and cool to the touch. "Sorry, but I'm at a disadvantage."

He shrugged. "No biggie. I guess what counts is me noticing you."

"Oh, really?" I asked, raising my brows in question.

For the next two weeks, we were inseparable. I even introduced him to my dad. It was like I'd known him my whole life. I got a little concerned when it came time for the first day of school. He promised nothing would change, but something at the back of my mind kept telling me otherwise.

Anthony was an instant success at popularity. His brother Emmett was right next to him gaining everyone's attention. Both were seniors and the girls started zeroing in as soon as they were spotted. Of course, on a few occasions, I was jealous. Anthony always took that thought out of my head. He said I was all he wanted, so I believed him. He just had to look at me with his captivating smile.

We didn't see each other much in school. When we did, it was mostly at lunch. It was a free hour for him, so he chose to be with me. We spent it outside in a secluded area next to the gym on most days. On the rainy ones, we huddled in his car. I wasn't sure anyone knew about it, but I didn't care; he was all that mattered. He'd become the most important person in my life.

Emmett started dating a girl named Jane. She was attached to his arm every time I turned around. She didn't like me too much because she considered me an underclassman who was trying to steal her man. Emmett liked my company, though, so Jane could jump off a bridge and I wouldn't care. He never saw the way she treated me when he wasn't around so, I kept my mouth shut because I didn't want to start any trouble. I'd already been through enough as it was.

No one, besides my parents and my mom's fiancé, Phil, knew what kind of trouble I'd been in. It was the reason I was currently living with my dad in Forks, Washington.

I used to live in California with my mom and Phil; he was a minor league baseball player. He played for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. I wasn't much of a sports person, but I loved the beach, and hated the school I went to. I'd keep to myself, and every once in a while there'd be this one particular girl that always tried to cause trouble with me. That was until she tried to bully me in the girls' bathroom one day.

This was all during the beginning of my freshman year. Again, I hated the school to begin with. Well, the kids that went there, mostly. I'd been around them for far too long and I've grown to dislike them as much as possible. Sixth, seventh and eighth grade was enough, but on to high school made my dislike for them even worse. There may have been one or two I talked to, but I never associated with them outside of school.

Back to the stupid cow that cornered me in the bathroom. She had no idea who she was messing with. I tried my best to ignore all the stupid pieces of shit, but that day, it couldn't be done. It was like I'd woke up on the wrong side off the bed. Everything was shit that day and she had to make it worse. It was when she started flicking wet toilet paper at me that my temper started to rise. Then she smashed a handful in my hair.

My blood boiled in a split second and I couldn't help myself. The bitch had it coming, but what happened next was like I had an out of body experience. I was so pissed that I barely remember what I did to her. She ended up in the hospital when I busted her face up, broke a few of her ribs, busted her front two teeth, and last but not least, she had a crushed hand when I ground the heel of my shoe into it. Pity for her, I was wearing my low cut boots that day. She, nor anyone else in that school, knew I could fight. I could thank my dad for that, but not while my mom had to endure court dates and me being expelled from school. I was also put on probation for two years.

Because I was under age, my mom was ordered to pay the medical bills for the girl. She ended up needing surgery on her hand. That's when my mom came up with the brilliant idea to send me to my dad's in Forks. He wasn't too happy with me, but proud at the same time. Proud because I stuck up for myself, but pissed because I took it too far.

I knew I pushed my limit when I hurt her. It was as if once I started, I couldn't stop. The two years of probation I was put on, was transferred to Forks once my mom got it Okayed from the court. I wasn't allowed to put my hands on another person in a violent way, of any kind, for two years. If I stayed out of trouble, it would disappear as if I'd never done it only because it was my first offense. That's when I decided to choose my battles, wisely. I still had another eight months to go before I was in the clear.

I finished the remainder of my freshman year through a virtual program the school provided so I wouldn't get behind on any assignments. It was during that time that Phil was traded to a team in Florida. He was excited about the move because his best childhood friend lives there, so when the opportunity came, he took it.

As soon as I got moved in with my dad and they were all moved into their apartment, in Florida, I spent most of the summer at the beach. Again, because I was a minor and on probation, I could travel with my family, but if it were a permanent move, it had to be cleared with the court system.

So, there I was a new student, at a new school, in a whole new town. The school seemed pretty laid back. There weren't a whole lot of kids. One side housed the freshman and sophomores and the other side was the juniors and seniors. There were two lunch hours; freshman and sophomores the first hour and juniors and seniors the second.

A couple of months passed as Anthony and I spent as much time as we could together. The most time we spent apart was when his family would take trips to Seattle every couple of weeks. I never questioned it; he was with his family, but we texted and had the occasional phone call on his trips.

We were nearing our Thanksgiving vacation and we had the whole week away from school and I knew I was head over heels in love with him. We'd had some really hot and heavy make out sessions, and we'd only get so far before I was stopping us from going any further. I'd let him touch me and see me without my shirt or bra on. I wanted to be with him, but I was afraid; I was still a virgin.

We'd talked about us going to the next level and he promised to make me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world as he made love to me for the first time. That led me to think a lot about giving myself to him during our Thanksgiving break. My dad was gone a lot for work and I already knew he wouldn't be home for a few days during our holiday vacation. I wanted to plan a special night for us.

It was definitely special. He brought me flowers and even cooked dinner for me. We shared dessert and listened to some music that led us going to my room. He took it slow with me; he was gentle even though it hurt like hell when he pushed inside of me. My body was in flames as he touched me, kissed me, and caressed every inch of my skin. He even kissed the tip of my toes before we were worked up enough to go for round two. I'd never felt so loved in my life.

I hoped I'd never lose him.

The day of Thanksgiving, my dad was home long enough for me to cook us a delicious meal and enjoy it together. I never once felt like he knew I'd just lost my virginity two days before. I felt like more of a woman now that I'd let that part of me go.

My dad had left later that evening on another trip to somewhere he couldn't tell me. I learned to never ask because he was an investigator for the United States government. It was all top secret business.

It was as if Anthony knew the moment he was gone because he was at my door a few minutes later and we were in my bed, once again. We couldn't keep our hands off of each other and the sex was getting more and more intense.

When it came to Anthony's family they were always so welcoming. I'd spent a lot of time with them, too. Claire would make us dinner and we'd eat before disappearing into Anthony's room. We'd already had sex more times than I could remember and we were starting to experiment with different stuff. We definitely didn't have a boring sex life.

When Christmas approached, my dad and I were invited to have dinner with Anthony's family. We gladly accepted and enjoyed a fabulous meal. Claire definitely knew how to cook. They didn't eat much nor did I. All I wanted to do was find some private time with Anthony and have my wicked way with him. We kept giving each other the look and wiggling our eyebrows at each other whenever we had the chance. We were insatiable. I honestly think it's more me than him.

The next week brought us a huge snow storm. It kept my dad from coming home from his trip and me at home. Anthony made sure to get to my house one way or the other. That week also brought my period. It was so embarrassing, but he didn't care; he still wanted me. I was so in love with him that I didn't care, either. All I wanted to do was satisfy him. I never wanted to lose him, so it was rare that I ever denied him. Shower sex turned out to be pretty amazing.

When it came time for the new semester to start, I actually looked forward to it. I was in love, had a great sex life and I was happy. It felt like the first time in my life that something was going my way.

Although, the first couple of weeks of the New Year felt kind of off. I couldn't pinpoint what was going on, but something wasn't right. Anthony even acted weird toward me from time to time. I brushed it off as pressure from his studying and homework he needed to get done to prepare him for graduating.

No big deal, right?

I couldn't be more wrong.

We decided to meet in our normal lunch time spot, even though it was freezing outside, so I made my way to the back wall. I finally felt like I had enough balls to ask him what was going on; why was he acting weird?

Turning that corner changed my life completely. It would never be the same, again.

Emmett had Jane against the wall with his face tucked into the side of her neck. At first, I thought they were having a hot and heavy make-out session, but when Emmett heard me come to a screeching halt and the swish of my winter coat, he looked up only for me to see red running down his chin.

Unless I was hallucinating, it was blood and he had fangs. That's when I realized I had to get the hell out of dodge.


	3. Chapter 3

**All mistakes are my own. SM owns all characters.**

 **1/24/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 3**

 **BPOV**

* * *

I had to run. There was no way I could stay where I was and watch what I was seeing. I felt like I was in a dream warp and I was the star of the show. It wasn't real; it couldn't be real. My mind had to be playing tricks on me or they were messing with my head, but the look on his face told me it was real.

My feet couldn't carry me fast enough because I didn't get very far. Emmett caught me, wrapping his hand around my mouth to keep me from screaming, and lifting me off the ground to keep me from running. "Shhh. . .Bella, please? Let me explain."

The desperation in his voice was pleading. He wanted to make me understand, but I didn't want to. I needed to get away. This wasn't real. I tried to squirm away, but his hold on me was iron clad. I screamed against his hand and kicked as much as I possibly could, but I couldn't get away from him.

"Please, Bella? We all owe you an explanation. Just give me a chance to get everyone together, and we'll explain." I shook my head. I didn't want to know. I just wanted to go home, but he set me back down on my feet and turned me around to look in my eyes, "You won't scream when I move my hand."

It was like I had no choice but to agree, so I nodded my head, slightly. I, all of a sudden, wanted to know what was going on, so I did what he said and stayed quiet.

I watched as he pulled his phone from his pocket, and sent a text to someone. Who? I didn't know. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know, but something kept telling me I had to know.

There was a gush of wind and Anthony was standing next to me with his hands on my shoulders and started to speak to me. "You're gonna come home with us so we can explain everything to you. You won't cause any problems or scream."

I nodded because I had to, I had no choice. My head answered before I could comprehend what was even being said to me.

It was only a few minutes before all four of us were in Anthony's car. Emmett drove with Jane in the passenger seat. Unlike me, she looked calm about the whole situation. My heart was nearly pounding out of my chest. My nerves were twitching to grab the door handle, and try to jump out. Jane didn't appear to care what was going on. It was like she was okay with what Emmett was doing to her. My mind was scrambling for things to scream, but the words weren't coming out. It was like there was a block on my word filter.

We were quiet the whole ride. I could see Emmett glancing at me through the rear-view mirror. Anthony didn't speak; not touching me, which was not normal for him. He seemed like he was afraid to get close; like we'd never had an intimate relationship.

When we arrived at their house, their parents, Claire and Marcus, were on the front porch waiting for us. They looked sad and taken aback. It was odd seeing them this way. They were always so happy with smiles on their faces. I still felt the need to run, but my feet took me to the steps and led me up. They took me in their arms like they always greeted me; like none of this was happening.

My mouth stayed shut. I had so many things to say, but again, I couldn't open it to say what I wanted to. I wasn't sure what they needed to explain; explain what I witnessed at school?

Claire hugged me again, "Hi, sweetheart." I nodded slowly and was guided into the living room.

I sat where Claire led me. It was like I was a robot doing what her master commanded.

After a few minutes, my mind started to become clear. Claire left me alone for a minute then returned with a glass of iced tea for me the way I like it. Then she proceeded to take a seat next to Anthony. He couldn't take his eyes off me; he had the same pleading look that Emmett had. I was more confused than ever.

Marcus was the first to speak. He looked me directly in my line of sight as he knelt in front of me, "Bella, we need to explain a few things to you if you'll give us a chance. Then we'll be glad to answer any questions that you might have."

I still couldn't speak, so I answered with a small nod.

"I'm not exactly sure what you saw, but I'm sure it was enough for my boys to bring you here." Marcus shifted to stand then took a seat on the arm of the love-seat next to Claire, "Could you tell us what you saw?"

I glanced at Emmett and Jane. I knew what my mind wanted to say and I wasn't sure if those words would come out the way I wanted them to.

My voice was dry and raspy when I finally spoke, "I saw Emmett biting on Jane's neck." I sat stiffly with my hands in my lap. "And he had blood all over his mouth and...and...and fangs."

Emmett sighed, sinking further into his seat next to Jane. Their hands were clasped together; for support, I was sure.

"Emmett, would you like to justify your reasons to Bella?" Marcus seemed to be playing mediator.

Emmett cleared his throat, "Actually, Marcus, I was sorta hoping you could start at the beginning."

"I could do that." Marcus looked over at me, "Bella, do you have time or do you need to get home?"

I felt like the hold on me slipped away so I shook my head, "No, I'm not even sure when my dad will be home." I wasn't even sure if I really wanted to stay with these people, but it was like fight or flight warring in my head.

"Okay. Do you wanna know what you saw? Or we can always pretend this never happened and go back to the way things were." I wasn't really sure what he meant by that, so I looked down at my hands that were twisting my fingers together out of pure nervousness.

"I'm not sure. I guess I do." I slouched my shoulders feeling like I had been defeated at a game I didn't know I was playing.

Marcus got up from where he was sitting and walked over to the liquor cabinet, pouring himself half a glass of some sort of amber liquid.

I had seen him drink before; it wasn't anything new, so I didn't question his actions.

He returned to his previous seat. He looked down into his glass before taking a sip. He then took a deep breath to start speaking, "In 1767, I was a forty year-old Rancher. We had. . ."

My eyes grew wide as saucers and my voice finally broke free, so I cut him off before he could continue, "Wait, wait, wait." I put my hand up. "1767? And you were forty? There's no way; that would make you. . ."

Realization dawned on me and my mouth dropped open, "Yes, 246 years old. Your math is very accurate."

"Um...I don't...Wha...how? I don't understand." Confusion filled me and I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why Marcus didn't look a day over thirty-five. It just wasn't possible.

"I hope you'll understand everything once I tell you my story." I nodded my head slightly as I closed my eyes. I opened my hand toward him, gesturing for him to continue. "I'm sorry; please continue."

"Okay, like I said, in 1767, I was a Rancher with more than a thousand heads of cattle and countless acres of farmland. I don't quite remember correctly, but I think I had close to 1,500 acres of property back then. It had been handed down for two generations before it was handed down to me. Luckily, I was fortunate enough to hire plenty of ranch and farm hands. My great-grandfather founded one of the first cities in the United States. Charleston, South Carolina was fast growing by the time my generation rolled around and he was the richest man in the town. "

Marcus paused for a minute to take another sip of his drink, "Do you have any questions so far?"

"No, no. I just...I'm still trying to figure out the whole age thing."

Anthony still hadn't spoken a word. He sat as still as the others while Marcus pushed on with his story.

"All right, well, I had about fifteen ranch and farm hands that we provided room and board for. They were mostly passerby's needing to make a little money on their way to their next destination. Aside from those fifteen employees, there were another ten that lived in town with their families and would come into work every day. Except for Sunday's, of course. I gave everyone an option to take the day off to use it for religious reasons or to just spend it with their families. There were only a few that would actually take the day off. Things are so much different these days compared to back then. That's a story for another time, though." He paused and took another sip and a deep breath.

"There was one particular Sunday where everyone had taken the day off to go into town to volunteer with a barn raising after church. Except for one, his name was Demetri."

Marcus chuckled as he took another sip of his drink. "He'd been working with me from the moment I took over the land. Very vaguely, I remember he'd also worked there when I was a child. Anyway, we'd been working out in the field getting it all ready to get a new crop of cotton planted. We had gotten most of the work done, so we decided to get on our horses and do a property check. We were always checking the fences to see if any needed to be fixed." Marcus shifted, where he sat, looking a little uncomfortable.

"There was an area of the fence that was down, so we decided to fix it before we lost any of our cattle through it. When we approached it, the fence looked like it was cut instead of breaking from normal weather wear. So, Demetri got all the tools out of his saddle bag, and we got to work. Normally, mending a fence didn't take long, but we didn't have everything that we needed to fix it properly, so we improvised with the stuff we had on hand." Marcus sighed and stood up, walking to the large picture window.

He stood, staring out over the back yard for a few minutes before he continued with his story, "Demetri had always been a great worker. He was a part of our family. He'd always eat dinner with us, and he was always around. My kids called him Uncle Demetri."

I cut him off again, not thinking before I spoke, "You had kids?"

"I had three. And a wife, too - Elizabeth. We'd been child hood sweethearts. We married when I was seventeen and she was just sixteen. See, back then, it wasn't uncommon for kids to be married that young." He turned to face us, "We had our first son, a year later - Phillip. He was our pride and joy; the spitting image of me, right down to the cowlick, like mine." He pointed to the upper right side of his head, to the hairline of his dark brown, nearly black hair. It was very noticeable.

"Anyway, sorry, I got off track." He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the pane of the window, "As I was saying, Demetri had never done wrong by me or my family. He never gave us any reason to not trust him. Like I said before, he was family." Marcus shook his head, seeming to clear his thoughts, "When Demetri climbed up on his horse to pull the wire tight enough. . ."

He trailed off, sighing heavily, "What we didn't expect to happen was the wire snapping. There was so much force behind it breaking that it was like a whip; it slashed across my neck, hitting my jugular. I didn't even know what happened until I felt the pain. It was like a blow torch to the whole left side of my neck. Blood was pouring out of me quicker than I could react, but Demetri had other plans to help save my life." He chuckled. "Next thing I knew, Demetri was crouched over me, biting into his wrist and forcing me to drink his blood from his wound. He kept telling me to drink and that everything would be okay. I didn't fully comprehend what he was doing, so I just did what he told me to do. It all happened so fast, but before I could recollect what I saw, I had passed out from the pain. It was a pain that I'll never forget; even to this day." I couldn't take my eyes off of Marcus as he started pacing back and forth with his hands in his pockets before he finally sat down.

Then, I looked at him quizzically, "What happened after you woke up?"

Everyone was still quiet, letting Marcus do all the talking, "I wasn't exactly sure. I woke up in my bed with Elizabeth sitting next to me. She told me I was out for about six hours. She kept giving me weird looks, some of concern and others, of fear. She kept glancing over her shoulder like she was expecting someone to come into our room, but all my family was already with us. I was told that Phillip, Daniel and Joshua were just arriving back from town when Demetri pulled me from his horse to carry me into the house."

I should've been completely confused by his story, but I was actually understanding all of it for the most part. I just couldn't figure out why Demetri would make Marcus drink his blood.

"Marcus, why'd Demetri make you drink his blood?"

He gave me one of those looks that most people make when they're about to tell you something that's supposed to be entirely unbelievable. "Well, I was startled awake, expecting excruciating pain, but I just felt like I had a nice long nap. I expected to be covered in blood, but I was clean and comfortable. There wasn't even a mark on my neck where the wire slashed me."

I was definitely confused now.

"I know what you're thinking," he conveyed, looking at me skeptically, "I was wondering the same thing and apparently, Elizabeth must've known what I was wondering because she got up and told me that she'd get Demetri. When she said his name, the image of him forcing his bloody wrist into my mouth, flashed through my head. I honestly didn't know what to think. I had so many scenarios running through my head. My first thought was that he was some sort of Voodoo doctor or even a witch. Actually men witches are called Warlocks, but I didn't find that out until later in life."

I was confused again, "Wait. . ." I put my hands up, scrunching up my face and shaking my head, stopping him before he could continue, "Witches and Warlocks?"

"Yeah, well, that'll come later. I wanna finish telling you the rest of what happened, but before I do, I think we should take a break. Claire, would you mind making everyone some snacks? I could help you."

"Oh sure, honey. I think that's a great idea." They excused themselves from the living room, leaving me with Emmett, Jane, and Anthony in silence, to head for the kitchen.

Emmett and Jane excused themselves next, heading for the back porch, and I got up, making my way to the bathroom.

I used the toilet, and while I washed my hands, I splashed water on my face. I stood, staring at myself in the mirror, trying to figure out what I was getting myself into. I wasn't even an adult yet and already dealing with a major issue. I guess I wasn't giving myself enough credit, mentally, to cope with what Marcus was telling me.

I stepped out of the bathroom, and Anthony was waiting for me with his hands stuffed into his pockets. He looked at me pointedly, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

I felt like I couldn't deny him. The urge to go wherever he was, was insistent, "Sure. You wanna go up to your room or out front?" No matter what was going on, I still felt comfortable being around him for some reason.

We started walking down the hall, his hand on the small of my back, "I think out front will be fine."

We continued walking, passing Marcus and Claire. Anthony signaled with his finger to give us a few minutes alone. Marcus gave a single nod of his head while Claire looked worried.

Once on the front porch, I wasn't sure if I should sit or stand, so I chose to stand, and lean against the banister.

Anthony stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking a little nervous, "I just wanted to let you know that whatever Marcus tells you, my feelings for you are genuine, and I'm hoping that you'll stay a little longer after he's done."

"You have to tell me what's going on? Honestly, I'm feeling a little spooked, right now." He sighed heavily, and dropped his head, looking at the porch under our feet, "You want me to wait until Marcus is done, don't you?"

He looked up at me, pleadingly, "Please?" Was all he asked. I figured he was already beating himself up inside over the secret that he's been keeping from me.

"Fine, but I can't promise I'll stay, okay. I don't want to give you false hope." And I really didn't. All of it depended solely on what Marcus told me.

"Okay. I just. . ." he shook his head, "Never mind. Let's get back inside."

This time, Anthony sat closer to me. I could see the hope pouring from him, and it almost broke my heart.

Once everyone was settled in their seats again, with drinks and snacks, Marcus cleared his throat for everyone's attention, "Are we all set?"

With a firm nod, I especially, was anxious to hear the rest of the story.

"Okay, where'd I leave off? Oh, yes . . . when I was thinking Demetri was a witch or something because I wasn't in any pain, and there wasn't any marks on my neck." His phone started to ring, but he silenced it, "Elizabeth returned a few minutes later, after she left the room, with Demetri following her. He looked like someone ran over his dog. He looked so sad, and I felt sorry for him the moment I laid eyes on him. He didn't come too far into the room, though, staying by the door while Elizabeth took her seat next to me, again. He didn't beat around the bush about anything and came right out, and said that he was a . . ." I guess he was pausing for effect because it was a few long seconds before he finally said, "...vampire."

My heart sank to the ends of my toes. He had to be joking. They were playing a trick on me. "Vampire? Is this some sort of sick joke? There's no such thing."

Marcus shook his head slightly, "I can assure you that this isn't a joke. I thought so too, until he extended his fangs for me to see."

"That's just . . . that's too hard to believe. You only read about stuff like this in stories. I don't know what all of you are playing at, but . . ." Then I remembered seeing Emmett's fangs when he pulled away from Jane's neck.

When Marcus stepped forward, I got up and darted for the front door. I needed to get away from here as soon as I could, but I didn't make it very far before Anthony grabbed me by the tops of my arms, and looked into my eyes. I was shaking, and scared to death, "Bella, sit down and listen to what Marcus has to say."

I listened, my body moving on its own accord, and sitting back down without any more argument. It was like my body had a mind of its own.

Marcus came closer to me. I wanted to get up and run for it, but it was like my body had bricks sitting on it, "Bella, please just listen. I'm being completely truthful with you. Look. . ." He opened his mouth just enough for me to see two of his front teeth extend down to sharp points.

I jumped back, nearly falling over the side of my seat. I wanted to run as fast as I could, away from this place, and never look back, but I looked around me, seeing that everyone was still seated; looking at me for a chance. I pushed myself further into the chair I was sitting in. I didn't know why, but I felt a little safer completely huddled in the corner.

I needed to get my breathing under control, to calm myself down. It took a couple of minutes, and they let me have it, "I don't...this still doesn't seem real." I tried to sound nonchalant, but it came out as a nervous laugh.

"I know you're probably freaking out a little. Believe me; I didn't know what to think at first, either. My first instinct was to run, much like you, but I looked at my kids, and my wife. They were all focused on me, and I couldn't figure out why they weren't as alarmed as I was. My wife noticed right away that something was running through my head, so she explained that Demetri told them all about what he was, and that all he wanted to do was live a simple life. Which was understandable because that's all we wanted do, but back then we never had any trouble, and we got along with everyone. We had great business relationships with the people in town, so I knew Demetri was probably telling the truth about not wanting to harm anyone. We were his family, and I felt relieved that he didn't want us for his dinner. I was fine with it; fine with everything. My family looked content and okay with it, too." Marcus got up from his seat, and went to the liquor cabinet again, refilling his drink. "He told us all about rogue vampires that roamed around and made sure we knew how vicious they were."

"Did you ever meet any?" I was beyond curious, now.

To say I was still stunned, and nervous, would be putting it mildly, "A few here and there, but Demetri eventually went on to explain how he started working for my great grandfather on that very ranch. I had so many questions, and he did answer them, over time." He walked over, and took his seat next to Claire. He crossed one leg over the other, giving me a few minutes to register all the information he just shared with me.

"We all took the news rather well. We had so much trust in him; we didn't care that he wasn't human, so I asked why he forced me to drink his blood. He simply answered, _You would_ _have died Marcus. You have a wife, and kids to raise, and they need you._ He explained that his blood healed me. It does the same for him. If he got cut, he was healed within a matter of minutes, but what he failed to mention was, if you were to die while you still had vampire blood in your system, you would turn." He sighed, and gave me a small smile.

He chuckled. "As you can tell I learned the hard way because as ironic and unbelievable as it sounds, the next day, we were out doing a cattle drive with the 1,500 heads of cattle so we could check the females for pregnancy, and believe it or not, I was trampled to death. My horse got spooked, and threw me off. I landed right in the middle of their path, and when my horse got spooked, so did they. What's weird is, I remember dying. I remember the pain as the cows crushed my skull, and broke nearly every bone in my body." Marcus stopped talking as recollection crossed his face. I was sure his memories of dying were hitting him like a ton of bricks.

"So, you're a vampire?" I asked, nervously as I looked down at my hands and picked at my cuticles.

He simply answered with, "Yes."

My heart was beating a mile a minute, but I knew I needed to ask, "And I'm guessing that everyone else here is, too?"

Emmett spoke up next, "Not Jane." Confusion crossed my face as I looked up at him, "She's my feeder. We can compel any humans to forget."

"Forget? You mean, you could suck me nearly dry, and make me forget what happened?" I shook my head because this was sounding so much like the mythical stories I had read about numerous times, as a kid and just recently.

I stood abruptly and gave Anthony a death glare with my hands perched on my hips.

Emmett scooted forward on his seat, to the edge, "Look, we do it to cover us so no one finds out. I could have easily compelled you, but Anthony would've put a wooden stake through my heart."

"Have you done this to me? I swear, Anthony, if you've done this to me…" I shook my head, again and turned away from him. "I've seen all of you eat food, and drink sodas. I thought vampires only drank blood?" It was obvious there was more to them than just being blood drinkers.

Marcus got up, and walked closer to stand in front of me, "It's hard to explain it if you don't live like we do. We're like a super hero, sort of. We eat human food, drink sodas, and we can even use the bathroom, but blood is what gives us the sustenance to stay alive. It's like a disease we have to live with. We can go close to a week without it. During that time, we eat burgers, fries and pies." He smiled at his attempt at a joke.

A small smile appeared on my face from his joke. It was lame, but it made me relax a little, "You're comedians, too?"

"It was lame, huh?" He scrunched up his face at me.

"Yes, but don't quit your day job," I simply stated, smiling at him.

"I'll keep that in mind." He turned from where he was standing, "I'm sure you have tons of questions. Did you wanna take another break? We can play twenty questions afterward, if you'd like," he suggested. I looked at the clock on the wall, noticing we had been here for nearly four hours. I wasn't sure when my dad was due home, but all I needed to do was give him a call, and let him know where I was.

Claire stepped in front of me as I leaned against the wall. I was still looking at Anthony. I was trying to figure him out all at once. "Sweetie, would you like to stay for dinner? Marcus could call your father if you'd like?"

"No need to. I just have to give him a call to check in and tell him I'm staying for dinner." She pulled me into a hug. She still felt like the same Claire that I've known since Anthony and I got together.

I did stay for dinner, and my dad didn't have a problem with it because he wouldn't be home until late.

I grilled Anthony as if he were being held for questioning in the police station. He admitted to compelling me a few times, but it wasn't for anything too serious. He promised he would never do it again because now I knew all about them. I still felt close to him regardless of the situation. I still loved him regardless of all of it.

Tons of questions were answered. I learned everyone's true ages. Anthony was actually 120 years old. I had to completely push that out of my mind. I had a repulsed feeling at first, but as I looked at him, he definitely didn't look like he was a day over the seventeen years of age, when he was turned.

When we were alone he told me all about when he was changed, and that it was his choice. He had been living with terminal brain cancer, and Marcus was his doctor. He said his mother had pleaded with Marcus to save him, but she didn't know the consequences that were being used to save him. All she knew was, Marcus was saving his life. I felt like I had no choice but to trust him.

After some alone time with Anthony and we were back with the others the stories went on. It turned out; Claire was actually older than Marcus, but only by a few years, making her 249 years old. They explained how they met in Ireland in 1901, and had been together ever since.

Emmett was the youngest of them all. He had just celebrated his 96th birthday the month before.

I kept playing everything over and over in my head. I had a boyfriend that was 120 years old, and I was sixteen measly years old. I suppose it was nice enough that Emmett and Anthony were changed while they were still teenagers in order to be able to pass for high school students.

My biggest fear, by the end of the night, was being compelled. I didn't know if I would ever know it, but I hoped that Anthony kept his promise and never did it again, but in the back of my mind, I knew it was something I'd never know. I accepted who they are too easily and stayed calmer than I should have.

I just hoped nothing ever changed between us.


	4. Chapter 4

**All mistakes are my own. SM owns all characters.**

 **1/26/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 4**

 **BPOV**

* * *

"Hello." I answered my phone already knowing who was calling. That's the wonderful luxuries of having caller I.D.

"Hi, sweet girl. What's on the agenda for the day?" Anthony always greeted me with the most cheesiest words, but I ate them up like a girl head over heels for her boyfriend.

I pulled on my sweat pants while I held the phone to my ear with my shoulder. I just got out of the shower after doing my chores for the day.

"Whatever you want. I don't have any plans; my dad's out doing guy things with Billy and all of my chores are done. You wanna come pick me up? My car's in the shop getting an oil change," I explained. I moved the phone away from my ear for a second to pull my t-shirt over my head.

I could hear the smile in his voice, "Sure, sweetheart. I'll be over in about fifteen minutes."

"Okay, see you shortly." We said our goodbyes and I hurriedly pulled on a pair of socks and my shoes before I skipped downstairs to wait for him.

It's been a month since I found out about his way of life. We all went back to the way things were before I found out the truth. I made them all promise to never compel me. And so far, I think they've kept that promise. Although, I wouldn't remember if they did, would I? I guess what I didn't know wouldn't hurt me.

Anthony let himself in when he arrived. I was still in my room messing with my phone when he walked in. Looking at him made me smile. He was so handsome; I still couldn't believe that he wanted to be with me. His body was frozen to his seventeen year old self. If Charlie only knew what his real age was, he'd have a coronary.

He walked up behind me, and wrapped me in his arms, kissing my neck.

The first time I let Anthony feed from me was from my neck. It took about a week for me to even agree to let him do it, but after the neck incident, we had to find a more hidden spot. It was hard to explain to Charlie why I was wearing a turtleneck sweater all the time.

And, sometimes when we had sex, I'd let him feed from me on my shoulder. That was a little more easily to hide. He liked to use the artery on the inside of my thigh, too. I loved it that way. In the heat of the moment it was way more intense.

He didn't drink from me often, but when he did, it always led to us having sex. It was the best sex even though I had nothing to compare it to. I couldn't imagine having sex with anyone other than him.

The more Anthony kissed along my neck, I knew what was gonna happen next. It had been a little over a week since he last fed from me. I was uncomfortable while I was on my period. He didn't argue, and said it was my call; he said it was always my decision.

That being said, I often wondered who he fed from before me. I always wanted to ask, but I was afraid to start an argument with him. Which, we normally never did. We had a few disagreements here and there, but they never escalated beyond anything we couldn't control.

Slowly, Anthony started undressing me and in moments we were completely naked in front of each other.

There wasn't anything rushed, so I dropped to my knees and took him into my mouth. He let me relish in his manhood for a minute before he couldn't take it anymore and picked me up to put me on the bed. He didn't hesitate before pressing his face between my legs. I was so turned on and ready for him.

I was sure he could sense it before it happened.

I was writhing from pleasure as he held me down, "Let go, sweet girl."

As my orgasm started, he went for my artery. I literally saw stars; my head spinning, and my breathing was escalated.

After so many times, I hardly felt his teeth pierce my skin. It was like a small pinch and he always waited for my orgasm to hit before he would sink his teeth into me. The feeling was overwhelming and it intensified the feeling beyond belief.

When he was done, he licked the wound, cleaning off the excess blood and sealing the puncture holes. He then climbed up, hovering over the top of me, "You like it like that, don't you?"

He slid his hand down over my stomach and rubbed my opening. "Mmm...I actually saw stars." He leaned down, capturing my lips with his. I could taste the slight lingering flavor of blood on his tongue. He always seemed more sexual after he fed from me, but never pushed for more.

After we kissed for few minutes, he eased further between my legs, hooking my knee over his arm. "I want you to promise me something," he started, looking down at me. He rolled his hips, grazing where I wanted him the most.

"Anything." I was sure Anthony was it for me, and would move heaven and earth to keep him. I loved him enough that I would change for him; to be with him for the rest of my life. Marcus wanted the same with his family, but they wanted to live out their lives as human. They had their choice, but if it were a situation like his, where he was dying, they agreed to be changed.

I loved Anthony enough to be his forever.

He placed a light kiss on my lips before he spoke, "Promise me that you'll always be mine."

I was caught up in the heat of the moment, but that didn't matter,I knew he was the one I wanted to be with and I loved with every fiber of my being. "Of course," I responded, positive that I wouldn't give myself to another man.

He smiled and pulled me closer to slide inside of me. My eyes rolled to the back of my head as I soaked up the pleasure he was giving me. Every time we came together, I felt how much he truly loved me.

There were only a couple of my friends that knew of mine and Anthony's relationship, but we never talked about it. Angela and Heidi were the best. I couldn't ask for better friends. They were the sweetest and the most kind hearted of anyone I ever knew. We weren't really into all the gossip and talk of the school. I kept my business to myself and I was grateful that Angela and Heidi understood. Anthony and I weren't ones to flaunt our relationship in front of anyone. Not even his family.

I normally kept to myself. Anthony was much the same, but most of the girls in school swooned and flocked to him like he was a teen pop star. I felt lucky for the most part because I knew he wanted me and he was mine. Everyone else was redundant to me. I usually ignored any bullshit I heard.

So, the next day at school, Anthony and Emmett weren't there. He had sent me a text telling me that they had some family stuff to take care of, and he would see me later. I never questioned him too often about what they did when they weren't in school. I didn't feel like it was my business and if they wanted me to know, they'd share it with me. Of course I wondered, and as much as I felt comfortable around Anthony and his family, I still had a little uneasiness about them. More or less...I was afraid to ask.

I was changing into my gym clothes when another girl spoke to me, unexpectedly, "What the hell. . ." she grabbed my shorts, pushing them down, looking at the bite mark on my inner thigh. The marks never really completely go away even if he seals them. I refused to let him give me his blood so I could heal completely. Just the thought of someone else's blood in my mouth was repulsive.

"Excuse me!" I said in an irritated tone as I yanked my shorts up to cover my love bite.

"It looks like someone bit you." Recognition dawned on her, her eyes going wide, "You let your boyfriend bite you?"

I shook my head, "That's none of your business," I stated firmly.

The girl looked at me like I spit in her face, "Excuse the fuck outta me, you kinky bitch."

"Look, I don't even know who you are. Just mind your own business." She rolled her eyes and huffed. I knew she was a senior, but didn't know her name and was only taking the gym glass to acquire the credit to graduate.

"Lauren, c'mon, let's go. I don't know why you're even talking to her in the first place. She's Anthony's girlfriend, anyway." The girl, who spoke, tried to pull Lauren away from me.

Her face turned a different color at the mention of Anthony. She sneered at me, "You're Anthony's girlfriend?"

"Yeah, and?" I snidely. I had no idea why I even shared the information with her. She was acting as if I wasn't good enough to be around her or anyone else.

"Anthony, huh?" I nodded, answering her stupid question. "Well, you must not be all that important to him if I've never seen you two together. He used to be with me until about six months ago. He just told me he didn't wanna be with me anymore," she huffed and pointed at me, "Mark my words, if you don't put out, he'll dump your ass in a heartbeat," she painfully explained. I could see she really did look hurt. Even after six months, she looked pained just to talk about it. He must have dumped her when he committed himself to me; compelling her to forget everything else.

I wasn't sure what to say to her, "I'm sorry." She let out a halfhearted chuckle, "I didn't know Anthony had another girlfriend before me." I wasn't thinking when I said it. I didn't want a confrontation with this girl. That boat already sailed a while ago and I didn't want to be back in that position. It didn't feel right, but she wasn't the one I needed to talk to about this. Things started to click in my head about what she was telling me.

"Sorry?" Her attitude seemed to change, shaking her head, "You're sorry that he cheated on me with you? How long did you say you two have been together?" She was looking beyond pissed off. I was trying to stay back from her. I didn't want any further confrontation; especially a fight.

I lowered my head at first then looked back up at her, "I didn't and if you must know, about eight months," I answered quietly.

She propped both of her hands on her hips, stepping closer to me, "He cheated on me, with you." She shook her head. "Let me guess. You were a virgin when you got together?" I nodded, answering her question. "Yeah, well, I was, too; he was my first." She growled and stomped her foot, "MOTHERFUCKER!" She screamed.

"I'm sorry," I quietly whispered to her, again, but the anger in her eyes went from pure hatred to murderous. I was pissed, too, but I knew how to garner my anger a lot better than her especially after the girl I put in the hospital.

"YOU'RE SORRY!? He was fucking me, and cheated on me, with you, for months. What the hell do you have that I don't?" She chuckled dryly, turning away from me for a split second before turning back, "Oh, I know. You suck his dick, don't you?" I looked up at her through my eyelashes, as she shook her head at me, "See, I wouldn't, so that has to be the reason he chose you over me." A bitter chuckle escaped her, "Wow! You must really know how to suck cock really good." She was being so hateful toward me; she had a right to be, but I was a scorned counterpart, also.

I honestly didn't know what else to say. I wanted to say sorry, again, but she would've gone ballistic and I didn't want that.

I decided to continue getting ready for gym class, ignoring everyone that was standing around watching what was going on.

After closing my locker, I started walking toward the gym, keeping to myself, until Lauren grabbed my arm, spinning me around, "You think I'm done with you?"

"I have nothing more to say to you." I turned away from her, and started walking away, but before I knew what was happening, she spun me around, slapping me across the face. It was hard and stung like a motherfucker. I'd never been hit in the face before.

Looking at her, I was stunned, holding my hand to my face. I couldn't believe she slapped me. I had to be the better person and walk away. Yes, I was pissed, but I couldn't touch her, and the one person I really wanted to hit wasn't within arm's reach of me.

Of course I was very hurt over what Anthony had done to both of us. He was having sex, and feeding from her for months of our relationship. Well, I assume he was feeding from her. There was no way he wasn't feeding from her. He cheated on me, too, but I wasn't blaming her. There was only one person to blame and that was Anthony.

She yelled after me, "You think this is over, bitch, you're wrong!"

I turned and walked back to where she stood, seething, "Look," I pointed at her, "Lauren is it? Well, we only have one person to blame here, and it's not each other, so get off your fuckin' high horse and realize I was hurt, too; not just you."

Her face paled at my declaration. I wasn't holding it against her because Anthony's infidelity. He played us, both.

Nothing else was said between us, and went about our day, ignoring each other. Looks were thrown back and forth, but I wasn't about to get in trouble at school. That's something I already experienced and I refused to head down that road, again.

Anthony was due for a huge tongue lashing, and not the kind he'd be expecting.

I was beyond pissed, and hurt. I felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest. Approaching Anthony about all this was going to be the hardest part. I shouldn't care, but I was afraid of how he would react. More importantly, would he compel me to forget? And why didn't he compel Lauren to forget?

I made it home, foul mood intact, to find Anthony sitting on the hood of his precious Mustang.

He hopped off, making his way over to me, "Hey, sweet girl. I missed you, today," he declared, leaning down to kiss me, but I turned my head away.

"I can't say that I missed you," I retorted with a sneer.

He stepped back, his hands on my hips, "What's gotten into you?"

"You, that's what," I pushed his hands off me, and stepped away, "You mind telling me about Lauren?"

His jaw clenched tightly at the mention of her name and his hands fell from my hips, "C'mon, Anthony. What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" The sarcastic side of me was rearing her ugly head.

His fists were clenching, open and closed; he looked pissed.

"Aren't you gonna explain to me why you played the both of us?" I crossed my arms over my chest. "Why Anthony? I've given my entire heart to you," I shook my head, dryly chuckling, "I've let you feed from me," I said through gritted teeth, "And now I find out that you were fucking her for months during our relationship." I shook my head, again, "Why, Anthony? Is it because I suck your dick, and she didn't? Could you not be satisfied with one person? Can you be with one person?"

He finally loosened up, and leaned against his car with his head down, "Bella, please." He sighed, "I just…I don't have any real explanation except, I fell in love with you. I felt this connection with you like I've never felt from anyone else ever. It's like you're drawing me in without even trying."

"And that's supposed to make it all better? You declare your love to me, and it's supposed to make things better? Anthony..." I sighed heavily, shaking my head, "You cheated on her with me, and vice versa. That doesn't make things right; not at all."

"I know and I'm sorry; I really am. You're the one I want; the one I love and want to spend the rest of my existence with." He moved from his car, stepping closer to me, "Please, sweet girl. I didn't mean any harm by doing what I did."

"But you did, Anthony. I don't know if I could forgive you," I said as tears flowed over my cheeks. I couldn't hold them back anymore. My heart was in the pit of my stomach and all I wanted to do was throw up all over his shoes.

Through his pained expression he said, "I'm sorry to hear that, and I promise to make it up to you, Bella. I love you; I truly do," he said pleadingly.

I looked up at him, "I don't know if you're capable of love. Can vampires do that, Anthony? Truly and honestly love someone?"

He sighed heavily, like he was irritated with me, "Yes, Bella, we can. Look at Marcus and Claire. They love each other beyond words. Please, Bella? I'll get down on my knees, and beg you, if I have to, just please give me another chance."

I honestly didn't know if I could ever give him a second chance. My heart was breaking so badly just thinking about what he did to me and Lauren.

My thoughts immediately went to Lauren, "You need to take care of Lauren. She's the one who figured everything out. She saw the bite mark on my thigh, and questioned me about it. It escalated from there." I shook my head at him. "Didn't you compel her?"

"I thought I did. Only to forget about me feeding from her; that's all. We were seen together too much to make her completely forget everything." He sighed, dropping his chin to his chest, "I'll fix it, I promise."

"You better." I chuckled at him, "I don't want or need any more problems from her. She already slapped me once, and I refuse to let her lay another finger on me. You know I could seriously hurt her, and I don't want to. That's why I walked away." He just nodded his head, agreeing with me. "You fucked up. This answers questions I've been meaning to ask for a while now."

"I know and I promise, sweet girl; I'll make it right." He cleared his throat, "Can we..." He gestured toward my house.

I shook my head, "No!" I growled. "Are you fucking kidding me? You need to give me space to figure things out. I can't just let this go and pretend you didn't do this to me or even Lauren for that matter. Neither one of us deserved this. I love you, Anthony; I really do, but you've hurt me, and I need time to figure out if I can let all this just pass." I hoped he'd honestly understand why I needed time.

"Bella, please," he pleaded, "Please. I know you're upset but..."

"Anthony, _no_ ; I can't. Not right now. I need you to please leave; I wanna be alone." I lied. I didn't wanna be alone. I wished I could let it all go, and just say it was in the past, but I couldn't have him here. He tore my heart out by his betrayal. He couldn't expect me to pretend it never happened.

Anthony turned, slowly walking to his car. He stopped, looking at me longingly, "Just remember I love you. Please never forget that."

"I love you, too, Anthony. Please just go." I didn't want to break down in front of him anymore than I already had, but I couldn't help the tears that were falling, "Just go, please."

Anthony slowly pulled away from my house, and my heart sank even more. _How was I_ _supposed to get over this?_

That night, I cried myself to sleep. My dad left me alone because he knew something was wrong. I couldn't love my father more for giving me the space I needed.

The next day was Friday, and I went to school like a normal sixteen year old sophomore in high school would do, but something was off. A few people, here and there, were crying and hovering outside their classrooms in the hall. I had my own problems, so I ignored what was going on.

I hadn't seen Anthony, at all, when I walked from my locker to class. He never showed up to see me at lunch, either. I never saw him once or Emmett, but I saw Jane.

I was reluctant about approaching her because we never socialized during school and she didn't like me, but I had to know if she knew why Anthony and Emmett weren't there. Anthony would usually send me a text to tell me why he wouldn't be there, but I guess I lost that right when I asked him to give me time, so the text never came.

Glancing around to see if anyone was watching, I approached her, "Hey, do you know why they guys aren't here, today?"

She looked at me quizzically, "Who're you talking about?"

"You know who I'm talking about, Emmett and Anthony," I answered, surprise in my voice, that she was acting like she didn't know who I was referring to.

Her face contorted, looking at me like I was insane, "I don't know anyone by those names," Jane answered back.

"What? Emmett's your boyfriend. How can you not know who he is? And Anthony's his brother." My eyebrows were pinched together, looking at her in confusion.

"I don't have a boyfriend. I haven't had a boyfriend since last year." Then I realized she'd been compelled not to remember any of them, at all. I couldn't figure out why they would do that.

I let out a strained chuckle, "I'm sorry. I just assumed. . ." I had to get away from her, "...excuse me." I walked away; feeling completely confused, so I made the decision to go to their house after school to see what was going on.

The drive over was daunting. My mind filled with tons of scenarios as to why they would do that to her. There had be a reason. I knew people saw Jane and Emmett together. Maybe she was lying and pissed because he broke up with her or something?

When I pulled into the driveway, there weren't any cars around. I knew Anthony and Emmett parked outside, allowing Marcus and Claire to use the garage for their cars.

I got out of my car, running up the porch, ringing the doorbell.

No one answered after a few minutes, so I walked along the porch, and looked inside the windows. I noticed the house was completely empty. There wasn't anything in the house. No curtains . . . nothing.

They were gone.

They had moved away without saying good-bye. Why would they do that? Especially Marcus and Claire? It wasn't like them to do something like that. Then it dawned on me . . . Jane. She didn't know them, but why completely compel her, but not me?

My heart started breaking even more. It sunk to the pit of my stomach, causing me to rush to the side of the porch and throw up.

I collapsed to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. I wasn't sure how long I stayed there. I had lost all knowledge of time until I barely heard the crunch of gravel as a car pulled up.

I heard a door slam. "Oh, God, baby girl." I could hear what was going on, but I knew it was my dad. He must've noticed I never made it home when I didn't call like I usually did if I was going to be late.

My dad lifted me, carrying me to his car. He must've had a partner with him because they took the keys to my car that was clutched tightly in my hand, "We'll drop her car at my house then we're heading to the hospital."

I had no clue of my surroundings until I woke up in a hospital bed.

"Oh, good, you're awake. You had us all scared out of our wits, young lady," my dad expressed as he sat down on the bed next to me.

"Why am I here?" I asked through a gravely voice.

"You collapsed. The doctor thinks it's from a panic attack or shock. You've been out for two days," he explained.

I looked at him, confoundedly, "Two days?"

He nodded, grasping my hand in his, "What happened, honey?"

It took me a few minutes to remember what happened as I started crying, and couldn't help the loud sobs that escaped me. The memories of what happened came flooding back like a tidal wave into my mind, "They left, dad; all of them. They left, and didn't even say good-bye." I cried harder, unable to catch my breath.

My dad pulled me into a tight hug, "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't know. Did something happen between you and Anthony?"

"I broke up with him. I told him I needed time apart." My stomach was rolling, "He cheated on me, dad. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry." He squeezed me tighter, "It'll be okay; I promise." He rubbed his hand up and down my back, soothingly.

He held me until I cried myself to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**All mistakes are my own. SM owns all characters.**

 **1/27/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 5**

 **BPOV**

* * *

The next few months flew by unnoticed. I worked on auto pilot, mostly. I did what I needed to do, and stuck to myself like I always did. Not once, did I receive a text or phone call from Anthony. Or any of them for that matter.

Shit had hit the fan around town, though. Lauren disappeared and there had been a huge man hunt out looking for her. After a week and a half, they finally found her. She was dead, of course, in her car out in the woods. My dad kept her cause of death hush, hush, but deep down in my gut, I had a feeling I already knew how she died. It made me sick to my stomach to even think about it; I hoped Anthony wasn't that type of person. Then I thought back to the day after my world came tumbling down around me. Everyone knew Lauren was missing then, but I didn't care to ask what was going on. I just didn't care.

I broke down and called Anthony a few times, but I always got the same recording telling me that the number had been disconnected.

It was the same with Marcus, Claire's and Emmett's numbers.

I gave up trying. If they didn't want to be contacted, I'd have to deal with it. I also put the fact that Lauren was dead, out of my mind. I was surprised I wasn't questioned about her disappearance, but I was too focused on my schooling and going on with my life. Angela and Heidi believe that I'm numb; I was trying to ignore the fact that my boyfriend cheated on me and left town without saying good-bye.

School finally came to an end, and I'd be on my way to my mom's in Florida. There wasn't anything in Forks for me to stay for, except my dad. Depending on how the summer turned out, I would be staying, permanently. A fresh start in my life was something I definitely needed. My probation was almost over and it would be completely gone. That would make my stay in Florida even better.

My dad drove me to the airport a week after school let out. I made sure to say good-bye to Angela and Heidi. They were the only two worth saying anything to. We promised to stay in touch over the summer, but I also told them I wouldn't be upset if we only made a phone call or text every now and then. I knew they planned to get jobs and that would keep them busy.

It was the last week of June and pretty close to a year that I first met Anthony. I still had a little twinge in my heart every time I thought about it. I was more than pissed by what he did; I hated him and never wanted to see him again. I was starting to wonder how I even let myself love him so much. I even questioned my judgment or it was the simple fact that he probably compelled me to have all those feelings for him.

I was a little excited to see my mom. I hadn't seen her since the summer before. Last summer, we ended up taking a vacation to New York, Washington, D.C., and Boston. It was more or less an East Coast tour and I loved it. I hoped she had plans for more traveling for my visit this time.

Arriving, in the always sunny state of Florida, seemed to wake me up quite a bit. When I stepped off the plane, I felt an ease wash over me. And the weather was like a smack in the face. It was completely different after living in Forks for a little while. Going from being in a dreary, cloudy town, to somewhere that was bright, humid and hot was quite the change. But being here, it was like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders, and it reminded me a lot of the beaches in California.

I actually smiled for the first time in more than a month.

My mom, happily, greeted me with her fiancé, Phil. They were getting married in the very near future, and I was her maid of honor. I'd just have to make sure I kept a smile on my face to appease her.

"Hi, sweetheart." She grabbed me into a really tight hug, "How was your flight?"

"As good as a flight could be, I suppose," I responded. She draped her arm over my shoulders as we walked to the baggage claim.

An hour later, we pulled up to this huge house along the beach. They had just purchased it a few months before. It was definitely something I never seen with my own eyes.

When my mom showed me to my room, I gasped; it was unbelievable. I had my own huge bathroom and a balcony to go with it.

"You like it?" Mom had a huge, proud smile on her face.

"Mom, this…this is amazing. It's more than I need, but I love it," I replied happily as I looked around the room. I now had a queen sized bed. I only had a twin in my room at my dad's house.

"You can decorate it anyway you'd like. Paint, wallpaper, whatever you want. It's yours sweetie." She hugged me, kissing the side of my head. She wasn't taking her hands off me. It was like she thought I was going to float away.

"Thank you; it's really great," I expressed, hugging her back.

She led me over to the bed, sitting down, pulling me with her, "Can we talk?"

"Sure; anything serious?" I wasn't sure what there was to talk about, but she'd always been there for me when I needed her, and I wasn't sure what she knew about what happened with Anthony.

"No, just…I just wanna make sure you're okay. I know what Anthony did to you was completely heartbreaking, but sweetheart, you're still young, and have a whole life ahead of you." She sighed and wrapped her arm around my shoulders, "You never know, you may meet someone really special while you're here."

"I don't know, mom. It's been months since Anthony walked outta my life. I've sorta sworn off boys. I'm just…I don't know, afraid, I guess." I laid my head down on her shoulder.

She sighed and cupped my cheek as she kissed the top of my head, "Don't give up hope, sweetie. I know you still have some. It's just taking time to find it within you." She moved back from me, clapping her hands together, "Enough of the heavy. Why don't we get changed, and head down to the beach for a little while before dinner? Catch some sun?" She suggested.

Going to the beach did sound relaxing, and I was all for it, but then I realized something, "Mom, you have a pool, why go down to the beach?"

"You'll see, sweetie. Think about the beach in Cali." She stood from my bed, "C'mon, just you and me. Phil's gonna run to the store and pick some stuff up for dinner. Was there anything in particular that you wanted?"

I thought for a few seconds, "Sure, some vitamin waters would be great."

"Okay, I'm sure he could handle that. See you downstairs in a few." She leaned down and kissed my forehead then left the room.

As I was changing, I did think about the calmness of the beach in Cali and thought about how good it would be for me to have a complete change in my life. I already feel a difference. And a new school away from any prying eyes, or anything that would be a constant reminder of Anthony? My room where we spent hours upon hours, with each other. It would remind me of all the times we would lay and touch each other and make each other feel good. It was the same room where we had sex countless times. It would be too much to deal with. The memories would haunt me, and I didn't want that anymore. I could leave all of it behind. I could visit my dad during the summer, and know that I could come back home to Florida away from all the pain I left behind.

I met my mom downstairs and she showed me around a little more before she grabbed her huge bag before we headed out to the beach.

It was mid-day, and the sun was still set high in the sky. It was very inviting as I turned my face toward the endless blue that hovered over us. I took a huge, deep breath and sighed at the relief I was feeling. The humidity would take a bit to get used to, but I knew I could adapt to it easily. It wasn't so bad the summer before.

Mom led us close to the shore line. There weren't a whole lot of people in the area we were in. These were more set up as private beaches, but still very public.

I glanced out over the ocean and felt peace. I needed this...I really did.

We were laying out the huge beach towels when my mom looked up at me, and smiled. I couldn't help but smile back, but her smile faltered. I followed her line of sight. It was on the fading scar on my inner thigh, "Isabella Marie! What in the world …?"

I glanced down and looked at the discolored area, "Oh, that. It's nothing; clumsy me." I needed to come up with something believable. It was a scar from one of the first times I let Anthony feed from me. There was a matching one on my other thigh. It was just another reminder of the relationship I had with him. It was fading way too slowly for my liking. Luckily, all the other areas were not very noticeable. "I fell in gym class, and landed, spread eagle on the bleachers. There was a jagged edge from the trim, and unfortunate for me, I landed on it."

"Oh my goodness, child. Did you need stitches? That looks like it was pretty bad to leave a scar like that." Honestly, looking at it up close, it didn't look like a bite mark, anymore. The mark on my other thigh looked more like a bite.

"No, no stitches." I nervously chuckled. "Just a couple of Band-Aids. The nurse at school cleaned it real well and put some Neosporin on it. I was walking kinda funny for a couple of days." And that part was true. After the first time Anthony fed from me on my thigh, I didn't walk very comfortably, and he teased me, relentlessly. I smiled internally, remembering it.

My mom chuckled, "You're lucky you didn't land on your hoo-ha."

I giggled. "What kind of word is hoo-ha?"

"What? That's what it is, isn't it?" she shrugged and plopped back on her huge towel. I giggled at her mannerisms, again. She came up with the most unique words. She is an English teacher, after all.

I got settled, and lathered on some sun screen. Living in Washington left me completely white and pasty. Which was unfortunate for me because I'd been tan for so long. I wasn't about to endure a sunburn my first trip out to the beach in over a year.

After a few hours, we headed back to the house. My mom was right; being on the beach was serene, and captivating.

Phil grilled some burgers, chicken and veggies for us. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I started piling the food on my plate. I hadn't eaten this much food in months. Not since before…

I stopped that train of thought before it started. _New start,_ _Bella. Remember?_

My days in Florida started creeping along, and turning into weeks. Before I knew it, two weeks passed by without even realizing it.

I would take long walks along the beach just listening to my iPod. Other days, I was writing in my journal or reading. I had even ventured as far as the nearby boardwalk.

I had been in Florida for close to a month, already. School was gonna be starting soon, and I needed to make a decision about where I wanted to be, but I already knew in my heart; Florida was my new home and where I needed to be.

My next step was to let my dad know. He could ship the rest of my clothes, and my car to me.

Phil had some down time and volunteered to fly up to drive my car back. He said it would be cheaper than shipping it on a carrier. I didn't disagree. At least I knew Phil would take care of my car. I wasn't so sure about leaving it up to someone else bringing it to me.

Phil was leaving eight days before the wedding. He wasn't going to rush getting back, and calculated that he would make it home two days before the big day. One day to rest and the next for rehearsals.

I had never driven cross country before, and would love to do sometime in the future.

My car wasn't anything too fancy. Mom, dad and Phil chipped in and bought me a used newer model Nissan Xterra for my birthday the year before. They got a great deal, from what they told me. Dad made sure he had his mechanic look it over before he exchanged any sort of money.

It was in excellent condition.

I was told I needed to have a four wheel drive while I lived with my dad and I knew I'd have to get a job soon, so I could help out with the insurance.

Tomorrow, Phil would be arriving home. I was pretty excited to finally have my vehicle back, and of course happy that Phil made it back safe, and ready for the wedding.

My dad was also flying in for the wedding as well. I guess I was one of those lucky kids that have parents who were better off as friends than married. The best part is, they don't regret that they tried because they got me out of it. They were married really young and lasted for two years before they decided to divorce.

Today was the final fitting for my mom's dress, along with mine. I wasn't a huge fan of wearing dresses, but I'd do just about anything for my mom.

It was a sundress, but the shoulder straps were wide enough, and didn't show too much cleavage. For a girl my size, a C cup was more than enough. I was surprised that I didn't topple over half the time. I inherited them from my mother.

After our fitting, we went to have lunch at a small deli near the boardwalk. I was starving from all the running around that we'd been doing.

We were sitting, enjoying our sandwiches when a petite girl, around my age, approached us, "Hi, Ms. Swan."

"Hi, Alice. We're not in school anymore, so call me Renee." Mom smiled up at her. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Glad that summer school is over; no offense," she replied, quickly.

Mom smiled, widely, "None taken, sweetie. I enjoyed teaching you." Mom gasped, "Oh, shoot. Where's my manners? Alice, this is my daughter, Isabella. You'll get to see her this school year. She just moved here from Washington." I had told mom while we were trying on our dresses that I wanted to stay. She was excited that I wanted to live with her, again.

Alice stepped forward, extending her hand to me, "Hi! It's great to meet you. Your mom talked so much about you during school or whenever her and Phil came over to our house."

"I'm afraid to ask." I smiled up at her, "It's great to meet you, too."

"So, Renee, you getting cold feet, yet?"

"Oh, heck no. Phil might, though. You may have to make sure your dad drags him to the altar," mom suggested.

"I'm positive dad will make sure he's there." She glanced over at me, "Phil and my dad are best-friends, and my older brother Evan is Phil's teammate," Alice explained.

It seemed that I was so out of the loop with everything. I knew Phil had a best-friend named Carlisle, but I didn't know he had any kids.

"You're gonna be there, right? I know I spoke with your mom, and she said all of you were coming," my mother inquired, raising her eyebrows in question.

Alice giggled, "I wouldn't miss it. Edward's even taking the day off from practice to come."

It was my turn to raise my brows in question, wondering who they were talking about.

"Edward works himself too hard. He already knows he has a secure spot on the team." Mom smiled and patted the seat next to her, "Why don't you join us?"

"Let me order and I'll be right back," Alice said excitedly.

I leaned across the table to whisper to my mom, "I didn't know Carlisle had kids?"

"Oh, yeah; three actually. Evan's the oldest, and then Edward then Alice is the baby." She patted my hand that was on the table. "You'll get to meet them Saturday. They'll be at the wedding."

Alice came back a few minutes later, sitting down, "So, Isabella, are you gonna be a junior this year?"

"Yes. It's gonna be weird starting another school. It'll be my third one in the last few years," I replied.

Alice giggled, "You'll be fine. Stick with me, and I'll show you the ropes. I usually ride to school with Edward, but he's got his nose in baseball all the time. We're lucky to get him around for a game with the family."

"You play baseball, too?" I was starting to feel out of place because I didn't play any sports at all, or know about anything that went on in my mother's life.

"Absolutely," she chirped. "It's fun."

I giggled, too, "Yeah, I don't think I can picture you playing baseball."

"Alice actually has a good batting average," mom chimed in.

I raised my eyebrows, "Oh, really? So, how often do you play?"

"I only do it for fun. Mostly at our family reunions or any other family functions. My mom does a lot of charity work, and we have baseball games to raise money," she explained.

"Wow, I'm impressed," I smiled at her.

Alice playfully smacked her hand down on the table, "Hey, maybe you can play at our next event. That would be great."

"Oh, no, no, no. This girl," I pointed to myself, "stays away from flying objects. My luck, my head will act as the bat." I waved my hand, signaling that I'm definitely not all for it.

"Awwee…c'mon. How do you know that you won't be good unless you try? It's so much fun," Alice pleaded.

I groaned. I just met Alice, and I already felt like I've known her my whole life or maybe it's the simple fact that I wanted to stuff her into a shoebox and put her on a shelf, "Maybe."

Alice clapped while mom smiled. For some reason, I had a feeling my life was about to take off to a better start.

We finished lunch and parted ways with Alice. I promised to hang out with her during the reception. Everything was simple, and exactly how I'd have a wedding if I ever get married.

The men weren't wearing tuxedos, either, and if Phil could get away with it, he would wear Bermuda shorts, and a Hawaiian shirt. Mom drew the line at that, agreeing for the men to wear khaki's, and a nice button down dress shirt. None of them were wearing shoes because of the sand.

Sandals and sand DO NOT mix well.

Phil arrived home the next day around ten in the morning. I was pretty excited to have my car here, and more of my belongings. "Here's your keys." Phil held his hand out, but when I went to grab them, he snatched his hand back and laughed.

"Hey!"

"You can have them once you explain to me what's up with that stuff you call music." He shivered like he was completely disgusted.

"There's nothing wrong with my music. I happen to love Ed Sheeran. Actually, I love all music; you just didn't look good enough for the oldies hidden in the glove compartment. I think I had some Frank Sinatra in there somewhere," I joked then poked him in the stomach with my finger, causing him to drop his hand to try and block me from trying to tickle him. I took my chance, grabbed my keys, and ran.

"Oh, you little shit!" Phil yelled out as I ran to the front door and out to my car. It was dirty, but that was okay. It would give me something to do before the sun went down.

Tomorrow night would be the rehearsal dinner. We were all meeting at some expensive restaurant. My mom and Phil rented out the banquet room, making sure to have enough space to accommodate everyone that was attending the dinner.

An hour later, I was finally done lugging up all the stuff from my car. I didn't realize I had so much crap.

I had just finished placing all my books on the shelves when there was a knock on my door, "Come in."

Alice came walking in, "Hey."

"I didn't hear the doorbell," I said, walking over and re-closing my bedroom door.

"Oh, Phil was walking out as I came up the sidewalk. I was out taking a walk and stopped by to be nosy," she explained and I found it funny that she would actually admit that.

I shook my head, "Taking a walk? Do you live close by or something?"

"You could say that. We live about a mile away. I was actually walking along the beach. I love it out there; it's so freeing," she explained, seeming to space off thinking of the beach. I quirked an eyebrow at her, trying to figure her out.

I couldn't help but agree with her about the beach, "Yeah, it is. I didn't pay much attention to it as a kid."

"You used to come here as a kid?" she asked as she walked over and sat down in the chair in the corner of the room.

"No. We used to live in California up until I was fourteen. I lived with my dad after my mom and Phil moved here about a year ago. I never paid much attention to the beach when we lived there. My mom and Phil were always so busy or I had my nose in a book." I didn't want to get too much into my past. Maybe in due time I could trust her enough to share everything with her. Plus, I really didn't know how much I could share with her to keep her from being disgusted with me.

Alice smiled, "Well, now you can live it up; you live right on the beach. We have a little over a month before school starts." Then she gasped and grabbed my shoulders. "We can carpool together!"

"You have a car?"

"Yeah, not as cool as yours, though. I got it for my sixteenth birthday. It's just a Subaru; my parents bought it used," she frowned, describing her car.

"Hey, that's cool. I got my car for my sixteenth birthday, too." I smiled over at her. "Subaru's are cool cars, too," I smiled, stepping over, placing one of my photo albums on my book shelf.

Alice hopped up from her seat and walked over to me, "No, definitely not cool. It's a Forester." She glanced over the photo albums on the shelf, "Hey, you mind if I look at one of those?" Changing the subject completely.

"Sure," I replied, moving out of the way so that she could choose one.

She grabbed the whole stack of six albums and moved over to my bed. She made herself comfortable, lying across it on her stomach. She grabbed the smallest album first, "Are these in any order?"

"No. I just stuck them all in to get them out of the way," I explained while I climbed up on the bed lying beside her. I thought that maybe I would give it a shot and act like the teenager I am.

She flipped the cover open, glancing through the pictures of nature that I had taken. I loved taking small hikes in the woods behind my dad's house when I had some alone time. I liked taking pictures and had an interest in photography once upon a time.

We joked around about some of the candid pictures I had taken of my dad. He never had a clue I was snapping them. Here and there, my mom would pop up.

The next album contained pictures of the two friends I had in Forks. The waitress at the diner, where my dad and I ate a lot, was in there, also.

But, what caught me off guard was when she came across a picture of me, Anthony and Emmett. Alice gasp, "Who're they?"

"Well," I pointed to Anthony, "That's my ex-boyfriend, Anthony." She jerked her head toward me, her eyebrows nearly meeting her hairline, then back down to look at the picture.

Her jaw dropped open as she gaped at the picture of the three of us. I couldn't figure out what she was so fascinated with. "Who's the other guy?"

"That's Emmett. He's Anthony's brother. He had a girlfriend, Jane, at the time, but she wasn't there for the picture." I just wanted to flip the page and get that picture out of my sight. I had forgotten that I had it.

"Do you mind if I ask why you two broke up?" She was still looking at the picture as she asked me.

"Um..." I sat up, pulling my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around them, "I um..." My mind wanted to draw a blank, because all I wanted to do was forget what happened. I knew it was about to slam into my head like a ton of bricks.

"I'm sorry. I've never really talked about what happened with anyone except my parents and they only knows the basics." Tears threatened to fall, but I fought hard to keep them at bay. I was contemplating whether or not I should tell her. She seemed like she could be a great friend, and I knew I needed to be extra cautious with what I said.

Alice sat up, facing me. She placed one hand on my wrist, "It's okay. You don't have to say anything, but I want you to know that you can talk to me; I won't judge."

I looked up at her through my lashes. Her eyes were glassy as if she were about to cry with me, and all that did was make me want to tell her everything.

"I think I can tell you. It's just so hard." I felt a tear fall, so I wiped it away with the back of my hand. I paused for a few seconds. Alice made me feel content enough to share my story, so I started talking. Only the bare minimum, though. "I guess I can start at the beginning."

"It's up to you, Isabella," she replied.

"You can call me Bella; I prefer it, really," I sniffed.

"Okay, Bella. I'd like to know about this Anthony." I heard her mumble something about her brother and Anthony. I didn't hear her clearly.

"Huh?"

She shook her head, "Oh, nothing, sorry. Go ahead; I'm all ears."

"Well, I met Anthony Mason at the end of July after I got home from my visit with my mom last year."

I wiped more tears away and composed myself a little better. "We met at the public library, actually. He's the one who approached me. I was so oblivious to my surroundings that I didn't even notice when he sat down at my table. I learned he was new in town and would be a senior."

"Oh, wow," Alice whispered.

"After that day, we were inseparable." I gave her a sad smile, remembering when Anthony and I started to get close. "His brother Emmett was a senior, too. I thought they were twins until I found out that they were adopted."

Alice glanced down at the picture again, "They're both really cute."

"Yeah, I think they both knew that, all too well. Anyway..." I said slowly, "After a couple months of being together, things changed a little. We shared the 'I love you's' with each other and started to you know…move things to the next level. I felt so comfortable with him and he took me on a few dates. My dad actually liked him. Anthony proved that he was a true gentleman. He never pushed to have sex with me at first, but I knew I loved him so much and I wanted everything with him. He never made me doubt the way he felt about me."

"Oh, wow," she said, again, sitting up to sit next to me. "It really was serious then?"

I nodded. "I loved him so much. I really thought we were meant to be together."

Alice took my hand in hers. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." I shook my head, "Anyway, we'd been together about eight months and one day I was changing my clothes for gym class when some girl, whom I had no idea what her name was." I went on to tell her what happened that day. This was another part that no one knew about. "She said - _"Oh my God, I can't believe you let your boyfriend do that to you,"_ I said in a high pitched girly voice to try and mock Lauren's. I told Alice there was a hickey, not a bite mark.

I shook my head, remembering the look on her face. I went on telling Alice about the rest of my encounter with Lauren. My stomach turned, knowing what part of the story was coming up next.

"So, did you know that he had another girlfriend before you?"

"Well, it wasn't exactly before me," I stated. I could feel the tears gathering in my eyes, again.

"What?!"

"Yeah, he was with her for a few months when we first got together. I honestly didn't have any clue that he was messing around or was with anyone else," I explained.

"I can't believe he cheated on you," she whispered.

"Yeah, I know. I was devastated."

"Oh, hon. I'm sure you were. Any girl in love would be," she said, soothingly.

"I found out he'd been having sex with her a lot, too."

"Oh, God, that's worse. What happened after that?" I knew she was more curious now as to what happened. I had that feeling in the pit of my stomach that was going to open me up and swallow me whole.

I deeply sighed, "Anthony wasn't at school that day, but he was waiting for me when I got home," I said. A small flutter of hurt washed over me, remembering everything all too well.

"So, he didn't have any idea what happened?"

I shook my head, "No, and I didn't waste any time cutting to the chase. When I asked him about the girl, he knew he'd been busted. He kept apologizing profusely, saying that he didn't mean any harm and that I was the one he loved. He even asked for a second chance, but I knew I couldn't just go back to the way things were. I mean, for fucks sakes, I gave him my whole heart and my virginity. I thought I was so in love with him, but when I asked him to give me time, he started telling me how much he loved me and asked for a second chance, again. I couldn't, though, of course."

"Did he give you time?"

I chuckled, dryly, "Yeah, he gave me plenty of time," I replied.

She looked at me, puzzled, "Why'd you say it like that?"

"He left and never came back," I said, wiping the tears from my cheeks with the back of my hand.

"He left? As in left your house?" she asked quizzically.

"Yes and no. Sometime during the night they packed up their whole house and moved without even telling anyone." My tears were more prominent now, and falling uncontrollably. Alice rubbed her hand up and down my arm to try and comfort me.

She pushed my hair behind my ear, "That's the chicken shit way out." Her hand came up and wiped away my tears. "So how'd you find out?"

"The hard way. I showed up at his house after school. I had asked a couple of people if they knew why he and his brother weren't there, but no one knew. I wanted to talk to Anthony some more. I had the night before to think about things and I knew I could never be with him anymore, so I felt like I wanted to officially break up with him."

Alice nodded her head, "That's understandable."

"Well, my dad found me hours later and I ended up in the hospital. I had gone into shock and woke up two days later." I rubbed my hands over my face, trying to will the tears to stop.

Alice was looking at me like she was studying me, "Mind if I ask how long ago this happened?"

"It's been a little over four months," I replied.

She took in a deep breath, "Wow. This is all still fresh, then."

"That's not all. That girl Lauren went missing and they found her a little over a week later, dead in her car out in the woods."

Alice's eyes grew wide. "Was it him?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I have no idea. My dad couldn't talk to me about it. I asked how she died, but he couldn't tell me. They even kept her cause of death out of the papers."

"That's crazy." She squeezed my hand. "Are you okay, now, though?"

"Yeah, I'm doing better. I have my moments every once in a while."

"I'm sure you do." Then she looked down at the picture one last time before closing the album, "I can say this, my brother and Anthony have something in common."

"What does that mean? And which brother?"

She sat up and waved her hands at me, "Edward and you'll get to meet him Saturday at the wedding."

"Oh, come on!"

"Nope. Now you c'mon, let's go down by the beach unless there was something else you wanted..." She was cut off by her cell phone ringing. She pulled it out and checked her caller ID, "Ugh, it's my brother, sorry." She pressed the button to answer, "Hello."

"I'm down the road at Ms. Swan's house…because I'm hanging out with her daughter. Yes, Edward. Gosh, why do you have to be such a butt?…Why do you wanna know? …Fine, her name's Bella…Yes, she's Renee's maid of honor. Why do you care anyway?…Fine, tell mom I'll be home in a little while. Bella and I are talking right now and might do something afterward." She snapped her phone shut and stuffed it back in her pocket.

"Sorry, he's so nosy, sometimes." I giggled. I guess they truly were brother and sister; being nosy together.

"That's fine. Do you need to go?"

"No. Are you okay? We can talk some more if you'd like," she suggested, but I shook my head. I was done talking about my past.

For now, anyway.


	6. Chapter 6

**All mistakes are my own. SM owns all characters.**

 **2/2/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 6**

 **BPOV**

* * *

My day with Alice was pretty eventful after her phone call with her brother. She helped me finish unpacking, so when we came to a dead end at keeping busy, I remembered that my car needed to be washed, "Let's go wash my car."

The look on her face was priceless. She didn't seem too happy about getting her hands dirty until we got in and took off down the road toward a car wash. She actually thought we were about to pull out the water hose and do it ourselves.

I just laughed at her.

That night, while I lay in bed, I kept thinking about Alice's cryptic statement about her brother. I hadn't realized I laughed and smiled so much in my entire life in one day with her. I could see Alice and me becoming really close. A friend like her was something that I needed.

I will admit, I feel like there's been a weight lifted from my shoulders. I hadn't been able to talk to anyone about the stuff that happened between me and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. My parents only know very little. Just that he cheated and left without even telling me to kiss his ass good-bye.

The next day passed rather quickly. Alice came by, again, and we hung out by the pool for a couple of hours before we all left for one last rehearsal. My dad's flight had arrived a couple of hours before we needed to be at the restaurant, so we visited and caught up with the happenings in Forks. Thankfully, there wasn't anything traditional about mom and Phil's wedding.

That made me happy because I really wasn't up to throwing my mom a bachelorette party. I wouldn't know the first thing to do or where to start.

It was now two hours before the wedding. I was a little nervous. There was going to be so many people that I didn't know in attendance. I thought I was feeling the effects from both mom and Phil, although, they'd both deny that they were nervous at all.

My thoughts went back to the day before. Alice had promised that I would be meeting her family, which included both of her brothers. That made my nervousness spike just a tad. I tried to brush it off, but apparently, it was radiating through my pores. I had no idea why it was bothering me so much, "Sweetie, what's wrong with you?" Mom asked from where she was sitting at her make-up vanity, "You seem nervous and I'm the one getting married."

"You wanna know the truth?"

"Of course I do. Maybe I can help with whatever it is," she offered, turning to look directly at me.

I sighed and plopped down in the chair next to her, "I guess I'm just nervous about meeting all these other people; especially Alice's brothers. I've never been like this before, but Alice said some weird stuff to me the other day." And ever since then, it's been bugging the hell out of me. I'd met Carlisle and Esme at the rehearsal dinner, but her brothers weren't there.

"Why? Edward and Evan are great guys," she expressed. My mom was only trying to make my uneasiness go away. I was starting to feel like a stupid teenager. I guess in other people's eyes, I'd be acting normal.

"I guess I have a feeling she's up to something. She said something about Anthony and Edward the other day." I explained, feeling butterflies start their tirade on my stomach by doing the cha-cha slide.

"She doesn't even know him, so why would she be talking about him?" Mom looked at me, raising her eyebrows.

"She saw a picture I have of us and I told her who he was," I stated, glancing down at the floor. I felt a little guilty because mom had never seen a picture of Anthony and didn't know what he looked like.

She placed her hand over mine, "I've never seen Anthony, so maybe it won't be anything bad."

"Let's hope."

It was ten minutes before show time and my heart was pounding. I could hear every thump as it beat frantically in my chest. I had to take deep breaths so I wouldn't panic. I had to do this right for mom and Phil. I was being ridiculous for no reason at all.

My dad approached me before he took his seat up front, "You doing okay, kiddo?"

I wrapped my arms around him. It calmed me some, "Yeah, I'll be okay. I'm really happy for the both of them; they deserve it all."

"That's not what I'm concerned about," he said as he kissed the side of my head.

I pulled back, looking up at him. He was a tall man. Around six foot–two. Definitely towering over my five foot–six frame.

Gazing at him, I would say he was a very handsome man with dark hair and he kept a goatee. His skin was a light olive color from his Native American heritage. You'd never know that he was also Iris by looking at him.

I plastered on a light smile, "What do you mean?"

"Your mom told me you were a little on edge today," he said, rubbing his hands up and down my arms.

"Yeah, it's probably nothing. Why am I like this? I've never been this way before?"

"You've changed quite a bit over the last few months, so it's probably that it's a trust issue." I knew he was concerned for me.

I huffed, "Gotta love anxiety. And Alice, I've only known her a few days, and I already feel like I'm gonna strangle her and hug her at the same time."

Dad smiled and hugged me; again, "You'll be fine; I'm sure of it."

My excuse was being a sixteen year old with an over active imagination and a development of trust issues. That's a wonderful thing for a teenager.

A couple of minutes later, my mom stepped around the corner, declaring it was time. She hugged my dad then shooed him away.

We made our walk down to the beach where a couple of tents were set up and everyone was waiting. There weren't a whole lot of people, but enough to put me a little on edge. Most of Phil's teammates and some of my mom's co-workers were in attendance.

It was perfect for them.

I glanced around, smiling at everyone as I made my march down the aisle. I noticed Alice's mom sitting next to another man whom I knew wasn't Carlisle, but wondered if he could be Edward. I knew Alice had two brothers and having never met any of Phil's teammates, I was left wondering.

I made it to the end of the aisle without falling. If I were wearing shoes, I would've probably face planted. Luckily, we were all barefoot. One of the main things I loved about this wedding; it was so happy-go-lucky.

Mom made it to the end to stand next to her soon to be husband and before I knew it, the wedding was over. They only had simple vows making it a short ceremony. I was starving and couldn't wait for the reception.

I stood by my parents and Phil, as people congratulated them and introduced me. Alice was next in line. She hugged both my mom and Phil, "I'm so happy for you, two. No more Ms. Swan in school; Mrs. Dwyer, now," Alice excitedly said. It was going be so weird attending the same school that my mom was a teacher at. She taught ninth grade Language Arts.

Alice hugged me next, "Do you have to stay here or can you hang out, now?"

I looked at mom and Phil. They said it was okay to go, "Thank you; we'll be around."

"Don't take off, too far. We'll be cutting the cake soon," mom said to my retreating form. I waved back to let her know that I heard what she said.

Alice and I walked over to where all the food was and picked a few things out. They weren't serving anything fancy; just a bunch of small sandwiches and side dishes. They also had a few different kinds of dessert just in case no one wanted cake.

I kept glancing around, not really looking for anything in particular, but honestly, I was. I was looking for Alice's brothers, although I had no clue what they looked like. I was trying not to be too obvious.

"Okay, so school starts the eighteenth. Have you done all of your school shopping, yet?" I brought my attention back to Alice.

"Alice, you saw my closet. Does it look like I need any more clothes?" I retorted, grimacing.

She huffed at me, "Bella, you can't wear the same clothes as last year. That's like...a sin. We can go while your mom and Phil are on their honeymoon."

"I'll go with, but I honestly don't think I need anything. Maybe a new backpack and some shoes," I said, trying to make my point. I really did have more clothes than I needed. I could probably donate half of them and still have more than enough.

"Fine, but you know…" she stopped talking so she could screech and clap her hands, "He's here; you have to meet him."

I looked at her quizzically, "Who?"

"My brother, silly. He couldn't come to the ceremony. Well, he could, but he said he'd rather just come to the reception; he's a dork. C'mon, I'll introduce you to both of my brothers," she replied. I wasn't so nervous around her parents, so maybe her brothers wouldn't be so bad.

She grabbed my hand and pulled me, nearly kicking and screaming, across the room. When we approached her family, two of the men, had their backs to us.

"Hey, guys," Alice said excitedly.

In that instant, my whole world came to a dead stop and every last bit of oxygen I had in my lungs, left my body. I couldn't breathe…I started shaking.

There, standing right in front of me, was Anthony.

Everything started getting fuzzy and before I knew what was happening, I was being woken up by Alice smacking my face.

"Alice, stop smacking her; she's waking up," I heard an unfamiliar voice say.

"Bella, honey, are you okay?" My mom asked. I knew her voice all too well. I was still feeling dizzy like I was walking through a spinning dark tunnel and raised my hands to rub at my eyes, "C'mon sweetie, you're scaring me a little."

I opened my eyes slowly. There was a group of people standing around. Some, I didn't even know, "Mom?" I whispered, "What happened?"

I glanced around and saw my dad and Phil, "You passed out when Alice was introducing you to her brothers. Are you feeling okay? Do we need to take you to the hospital?"

"Where is he?" He still had to be around here somewhere. I needed to know why he was here and standing with Alice's family.

"Who, honey?"

I sat up, "Anthony," I said through gritted teeth, "He was just here." I started looking around. When I glanced over at my dad, he was looking at someone like he wanted to kill them.

I followed his line of sight and saw Anthony. He was standing and talking to Alice and her parents.

My heart started racing. _Why was he here? Why now?_

I stood, cleared my head for a second before walking right up to Anthony and punching him. I didn't care where my blow landed as long as he was deadly aware of the fact that he hurt me when he left and I wasn't about to let him get away with it.

"WOAH! What the hell was that for?" He yelled out.

"Don't play coy with me, Anthony. You know exactly why I did that. Why are you here? How did you even know where I was?" I was beyond seething.

He gritted his teeth, giving me a death glare, "I have no clue who you're talking about. I don't even know who you are."

"Hang on, hang on. Bella, this is my brother Edward Cullen," Alice said with a smile.

"What the FUCK?" I backed away from everyone. "You couldn't warn me? There has to be some kind of mistake. He's him. Anthony, my ex. The one I told you about." I stepped further away from Alice because she was about to be slapped for playing a sick joke on me like this.

"Bella, I promise. They're two different people. I swear to you and I'm sorry. If I would've known you would react this way, I would've warned you. I honestly didn't think it was that big of a problem."

I shook my head vehemently, "There's no way, Alice. He looks just like him." And I knew there was only one way to find out. "I can't believe you did this to me." I looked over at Edward, "Pull up the sleeve of your shirt."

"Excuse me?" He looked at me like I was an idiot.

"I said, pull up your sleeve. If you're not my ex, then there won't be a scar on the top part of your shoulder," I firmly demanded.

Without any further argument, he pulled his sleeve completely over his shoulder. I nervously stared, waiting for him to show me some skin. When it was up, I released a shuddering breath. There wasn't anything there; definitely no scar.

A loud sob escaped me and my hand went to my mouth. This guy was definitely not Anthony, but his twin; they looked just like each other.

"I'm so sorry," I whimpered out, "I'm so sorry."

I couldn't face him any longer or anyone else for that matter, so I ran from the tent, back to the house. I couldn't get there fast enough.

I felt like I had been slapped in the face with a bucket of ice cold water dumped over my head. I wasn't handling it very well. I felt like I was completely losing it. I could have sworn I was looking directly at Anthony. There had to be a good explanation about all of this.

I ran straight to my room as soon as I reached the house. For months now, I thought I had put all these feelings behind me. The memories of Anthony, all came back to me. I started feeling that hurt all over again.

When I reached my room I slammed the door and threw myself on my bed, burying my face in my pillows, letting out every last held tear that built up over Anthony betraying me. I thought I was completely over him, but seeing Alice's brother, killed that thought.

About ten minutes later, there was a knock at my door. I didn't want to be around anyone, right now, but the person wasn't going away.

Reluctantly, I got up from my bed and walked to the door to open it. I found my dad on the other side. I flung myself at him, sobbing uncontrollably into his chest.

He picked me up bridal style and carried me back to my bed.

He sat next to me and let me cry. He was the only person who knew what I went through when Anthony left.

I was welcoming his presence.

"Honey, you didn't know; none of us did. Who knew that Anthony had a doppelganger out there, is beyond me," he said, soothingly as he wiped my tears from my face.

I looked up at him, "A what?"

"Doppelganger – it's a person's double," he explained.

"I swore it was him, dad," I cried.

"I know, honey. I thought so, too. I was ready to do what you did, but you beat me to it. I think he's gonna have a nice shiner," he said jokingly, "That's a pretty nice right hook, you've got there. I guess all those classes paid off, huh?"

"Yeah, I suppose they did," I chuckled, "He's lucky I didn't do more."

"Boy, that would've been quite the show," he joked, again.

I hiccupped, calming down from my crying fit, "I need to apologize to mom and Phil. This was their day and I ruined it."

"When I came up here, Alice, I guess that's her name, was explaining to everyone what was going on."

I gaped at him, "Everyone?"

"Well, just the involved parties. Your mom, Phil, her parents and her brothers," he explained.

"Oh." Was all I could say.

I was utterly and completely embarrassed from my actions. I overreacted without any explanation. How could I ever face…Edward? And after what I did to him? I wouldn't be surprised if Alice's parents never let me speak to her again.

When I thought of Alice, I was upset with her for not giving me the heads up. I couldn't understand why she did what she did, but in a way I did. I knew I could forgive her; I just needed to wallow in my self-pity for a day or so.

Dad patted me on the knee, "You gonna be okay, baby girl?"

"Yeah, I think so. Thanks for being here for me, daddy. You're the only one who knows what I went through after..." I trialed off, finding it hard to say his name, "...after he left," I expressed. My dad, to me, was the best dad ever. He never judged. He was a parent when he needed to be and a friend when I needed one. I only wished I could tell him the whole story about Anthony without looking like a fool.

"That's why I'm here and not your mom. She feels bad and wishes she could help better," he told me. I slightly smiled, "She knows you went through a hard time. You'll just have to give her a chance to be there for you. She's always been there, but for this, she'll be here for you now. I can't always catch a flight and make it better for you. You're growing up into a beautiful young lady; just don't let what happened between you and Anthony, rule you. Not all guys would do something like that. Anthony was having his cake and eating it, too. In a lot of cases, that's okay, but playing on someone's emotions, isn't."

I sighed, moving to climb into his lap. I hugged him as tight as I could, "Thank you, again. I love you, dad." He gave me a tight squeeze, "And thank you for being a friend to me when I needed a friend and being the best parent a girl could ask for."

"I love you, too, baby girl. Try not to let all this stuff get you down, again. Try to be the teenager you are and save all the other stuff till you're older," he suggested and I agreed. I wasn't searching for another guy anytime soon, "You were doing so good. Just try and push that stuff away, again. I know you can do it."

"I'll try," I said, climbing off his lap, pulling at his hand to help him up, "C'mon old man, you can go back down to the reception. I'm just gonna take a shower and call it an early night. If Alice is still down..." There was a knock at my door.

Dad stepped over and pulled the door open; Alice was there. She looked sad and full of regret, "C'mon in, Alice; I was just leaving." Dad hugged me one more time, "I'll see you tomorrow; love you."

"Love you, too, daddy," I responded as he left.

I walked back over to my bed and climbed up, leaning against my headboard. I didn't know what to say to Alice, so I crossed my legs and arms and sat quietly. I still hadn't looked at her, but I knew she wasn't leaving anytime soon.

"Can I sit?" She motioned to the bed. I nodded, not caring if she did or didn't, but I wasn't talking first. Call it childish, but I didn't care at the moment. "I had to check on you before I went home." I nodded, again. I wasn't finding my voice to respond.

The corner of her mouth came up into a half smile, "My brother has a nice shiner."

I still didn't say anything, but smiled slightly. I knew he'd have some kind of mark considering how hard I hit him. I had never punched a guy before and he probably won't ever be my last. And come to think of it, my knuckles hurt.

Alice sighed, "Look, Bella, I understand you're upset with me and I don't blame you, but I honestly didn't think..."

I cut her off, "That's just it, Alice, you didn't think. I told you what Anthony did to me. Why wouldn't you think I'd react badly when I saw your brother for the first time? He looks just like him, Alice!" I was waving my hands now, "His doppelganger, his twin… it's tearing me up inside because, now, all those memories are coming back to me that I thought were fading away. The ones I don't ever want to think about ever again. It's like having my heart ripped out, all over."

Alice moved further up the bed toward me, wrapping her arms around me, "I really am sorry, Bella and I promise to never keep something that from you, again." She pulled back and held me at arm's length, looking me right in the eyes, "And my brother would like to officially meet you, again. Like a do-over. After I explained to everyone why you reacted the way you did, they understood. Even before your dad came up here, he verified that my brother looks just like your ex."

I shook my head, "I don't know, Alice. I don't know if I could ever face him, again. I'm so humiliated by all this. He must think I'm some sort of crazy lunatic."

"No, Edward..." I put my hand up to stop her. "Just let me get this out?" She pleaded.

"Don't mention, he-who-must-not-be-named. I don't think I could take anymore." I wiped the last few tears away from my cheek.

"You make him sound like Voldemort from Harry Potter…he-who-must-not-be-named," she joked in a deeper voice, giggling at me. "Edward understands. He's a little shocked, right now, but he understands."

I nodded, letting her know that I was listening.

She hugged me, again, "Are we okay?" I hummed my response, "Good 'cause, I wasn't going home until I knew we were okay. We just became friends and we'll be spending a lot of time with each other over the next week, and well, from now on considering school, I didn't want to have anything hanging over our heads."

I smiled at her, "I don't wanna rush you out, but I need to shower. I think I have sand in my underwear."

We laughed. "Yeah, that's not comfortable."

We said our good-byes and Alice left. I grabbed my night clothes and headed for the shower. Tomorrow, mom and Phil would be leaving for Barbados.


	7. Chapter 7

**All mistakes are my own. SM owns all characters.**

 **2/2/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 7**

 **BPOV**

* * *

I woke to my mom sitting on my bed. I startled a little, not expecting her to be right next to me, "Morning, sweetie."

"What time is it?" I asked in my morning gruff voice.

She patted my leg, "It's ten, but Phil and I wanted to say bye before we left," she said, getting up from my bed.

I sat up, "Okay. I'll be down in a few minutes."

"Sure." She turned to leave, but stopped and came back to sit down,

"Can we talk for a minute? Mom and daughter?"

"Of course." I leaned against my headboard.

"Yesterday..."

I cut her off, "Oh, God, mom. I'm so sorry for ruining everything; I snapped. I'm sorry; I really am."

"Oh, sweetie. You didn't ruin anything. Alice explained some and when your dad came back down, he told us some more." She sighed, "Listen, I owe you an apology. I didn't realize your relationship with Anthony was that committed. I thought it was an innocent teenage romance, but your dad said you two were pretty serious and that's intense for a girl your age. Dad noticed that you two were like each other's shadows." She turned and looked at me a little more closely, "Were you two intimate with each other?" It never crossed my mind that dad noticed us so easily. Maybe we weren't so discrete, after all.

"What?!" I screeched, "Gosh, Mom. That's a little personal, don't you think?"

"Well, I'm a teacher, honey and I see how girls and boys get so attached to one another once they start having sex," she stated, patting my hand. "And I can't say too much about having sex at sixteen because, well, me and your dad..."

I put my hand up to stop her. "Please don't? I don't think I can handle that picture in my head after just waking up."

"Fine," she said.

I shook my head at her slightly, "Can we please not talk about that? I just don't want to go there. You don't have to worry about any boys in my future. I'll probably end up being the old cat lady that lives down the road."

Mom giggled. "Oh, you will not. You're only sixteen; give it some time. Great love will find you when it's ready, and it will. Look how long it took for me to find my great love." I was thankful to get her off the subject of sex. I really didn't want to have that conversation with her.

I moved closer to hug her, "Thanks. I have two of the best parents."

"Three," she said.

"Three?"

"You forgot Phil. I'm sure in due time he'll prove that he can be there for you, too. He's great at doing things for people, but he's also a great listener."

We finished our conversation and she left. I dressed quickly and headed downstairs to visit with them before they had to leave.

My dad was already up and moving around since he always wakes up at the crack of dawn. He was staying at our house with me for an extra day before he had to fly home.

You would think it was weird that he was staying at his ex-wife's house and attended her wedding, but since they're such great friends, Phil insisted that my dad come. That's a good thing, I suppose. Phil and my dad have become really good friends, too and my dad is a huge fan of Phil's - sports and personally.

"Hey, baby girl. Did you get some sleep?" My dad asked as I sat down next to him at the table.

"Yeah, I slept pretty well. Better than I thought I would." Mom was finishing up breakfast and serving it.

I looked up at her, "What time do you guys have to leave?"

She dropped a slice of French toast on my plate, "In an hour or so. Phil's loading up the car." She added a couple slices of bacon, "Now listen, your dad leaves tomorrow. Do you think you can drive him to the airport or I can have Carlisle do it?"

"I think I can handle taking him to the airport, mom," I replied sassily.

Phil entered the kitchen and sat next to me while mom started piling food on his plate, "All set. We've left a list of things to keep an eye on around the house, but other than that, you think you'll be okay here by yourself? I'm sure Carlisle wouldn't mind if you stayed over there."

"Nah...I'm good here. After last night, I wouldn't be surprised if he ever talks to me, again," I stressed. I wasn't sure how everyone felt about it, but if I stayed at their house, I'd feel panicky all the time and trying to hide constantly.

Phil chuckled, "That was a nice right hook, by the way, but don't worry about Carlisle. Everyone understands, now."

"Well, I still feel like an ass, regardless," I deadpanned, grabbing more bacon. I love bacon with syrup.

"You're not an ass," mom said, "Anyway, the pool guy will be here on Tuesday and the landscapers on Thursday. We'll be home on Sunday afternoon. We've left all the hotel information for you. Alice mentioned going shopping, but you have my credit card for that. Don't go overboard. Just get what you need. Annnd..." She stressed. "...if you need anything, Carlisle and Esme's numbers are on the list, but Alice will be here every day and she could always give you their number."

"Can she just stay here with me?"

"That's fine. We've already talked to Carlisle and Esme. They'll be checking in, so answer your phone if they call," she instructed.

"Speaking of phones, can I replace mine? The screen is cracked and it keeps freezing up."

"Sure."

We finished eating while mom continued to scuttle around the house. She probably drank one too many Red Bulls this morning.

Once mom and Phil left, dad turned to me, "So, you wanna hit up the boardwalk? Get some father/daughter time in before I leave tomorrow?"

"Sounds fun. Give me ten minutes so I can change," I said before turning and running upstairs to my room.

I dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a tank top, slipping on a pair of sandals. I put a hat on with a ponytail through the hole in the back. I didn't put any make-up on; there was no need for it. I wasn't really much of a face paint person, but occasionally, I'd wear it.

It took me eight minutes to get dressed.

Dad changed, too, putting on a pair of Bermuda shorts, a button up Hawaiian looking shirt and some sandals. He definitely looked way out of character and a lot like a tourist.

"Ready, kiddo?"

"Yup," I tossed my keys to him, "You can drive."

"If you insist. You'll have to show me the way," he said, holding the door open for me. He turned and locked it before he met me at the car.

We made it to the boardwalk and parked away from the other cars. Dad said, "Away from other cars, less chance of a scratch." I just shook my head at him. It wasn't like I owned a brand new Jaguar. He could be so ridiculous sometimes.

We walked around and did some window shopping. He picked up a few things to take back home with him and a couple of gifts for his buddy, Billy.

We stopped and ate at a small deli; just grabbing sandwiches. I was having such a great time and enjoying every bit of attention I was getting from my dad.

When we were leaving the deli, I stopped abruptly, "Can we wait here a minute?"

"Something wrong?" He asked with concern as he looked around.

"Alice's brother is over there. Can we wait until he goes away?" Edward was standing about fifty feet away from where we came out of the deli. He was with a few other people; two girls and another guy. One of the girls was probably his girlfriend. I didn't want to find out, but it was only obvious considering one of the girls was looking at him like she wanted to devour him as he talked to his other male friend.

Just as we were about to turn and walk the other way, he saw me. It was like he sensed I was there and turned around, looking right at me. I could see his black-eye clear as day. It looked a little puffy. I felt bad, but then again, this whole moment seemed too spooky if you asked me. I just wanted to get out of there, "Never mind, he saw me; let's go."

"Bells, you know you'll have to talk to him eventually because he's Alice's brother. You can't avoid him forever," dad said, wrapping his arm round my shoulders, "C'mon, let's go get some ice cream before we head back to the house."

As we turned to walk away, I heard my name, so I turned to see Edward waving at me. I gave him a small wave back, and he saw it, giving me a smile.

"Well, look at that. You're all paranoid about nothing. If he was still pissed at you for the shiner, he wouldn't wave at you," dad teased. He was right, but I wasn't going out of my way to say hello.

We settled on frozen yogurt and sat on a bench to eat it, enjoying each other's company. I kept glancing around to see if I could see Edward. I spotted him a couple of times and he always noticed when I was looking. I still couldn't get over the fact that Edward looked exactly like my ex. I wasn't sure how I could deal with it. I already felt like I was going insane. To keep what sanity I had left, I'd have to avoid him like the plague.

We finished our frozen treat and made our way back to my car. Dad kept giving me weird looks as we walked, "What?"

"Nothing; you'll come around."

I pretended like I didn't know what he was talking about and left it at that.

My time with my dad was over way too quickly. I was going to miss him so much. He promised to come back at Thanksgiving to spend a few days while I was out of school for the holiday break. I wished he'd move here so I could see him whenever I wanted.

The next day, I dropped him off at the airport; not without tons of heartache. I hated to see him leave, but I put on my big girl panties and drove back home, slowly. Even with the panties on, I cried the whole way.

That night around seven, Alice showed up, pulling a suitcase behind her, "Are you moving in?"

"No, but considering I'll be here all week, I need plenty of clothes. My parents said no funny business, so I'm sure we can find plenty of stuff to do." She rambled on and on. We finally made our way up to my room. She was supposed to be staying in one of the guest rooms, but for some reason, she pulled her suitcase into my room.

I didn't have a friendship like this when I lived with my dad or any other time before now. I spent all of my time with Anthony until he left and I didn't regret spending my free time with him, but now, I wished I never met Anthony Mason and wished I spent most of my time with the two friends I had in Forks.

"My brother said he saw you yesterday with your dad. He said he waved." It was like she was fishing for information, but there wasn't any.

I glanced up at her after I threw my pillows off the bed, "Did he also mention that I waved back?"

"Yeah, he wanted to talk to you, but he said it seemed like you were trying to avoid him and seek him out at the same time."

I shook my head, "I was spending time with my dad, plus I'm not ready to talk to or see him if I could help it. Yesterday was a fluke that I saw him. I still feel like a shit for what I did." I plopped down on my bed, scooting up to lean against the headboard.

We were about to watch a movie and eat lots of junk food. A typical girl's night except this was going to be a girl's week.

"Bella, Edward's over what happened and wants to meet you properly. I think once you meet each other, your opinion of him might change. I think he may like you."

I shook my head, "I don't think so; not right now. I punched the guy, Alice. How could he befriend me or even like me after what I did? That's just ridiculous," I exclaimed. There was no way he would be my friend or like me. He doesn't even know me. Alice was talking out her ass.

"Bella, believe me, he's been snooping for information about you since that night. Yes, he was pissed, but once he heard what was really going on, he waved it off like it never happened. He even thinks the black eye looks good on him," she explained, but I wasn't giving in so easily.

I gave her my best bitch brow, "Whatever, Alice. I don't know. We'll see in due time and that time is definitely not now."

"Fine. It's not often I see my brother have an interest in a girl," she said, climbing up on the bed.

"Mmhmm…that's why he was at the boardwalk with a couple of girls," I retorted, reaching for the remote.

Alice shook her head, "That was just Eric, Jessica and Kate. Kate is Eric's girlfriend and Jessica, well, she's just their friend." I still wasn't as interested as she wanted me to be.

Alice chuckled at my facial expression, "You could have fooled me. One of the girls was looking at him like he was the last piece of food on earth."

"That would be Jessica. It's no secret that she likes Edward," she replied, sighing heavily, "She's always liked him, but he's made it perfectly clear that he doesn't like her that way. I guess she's not taking the hint very well."

"Can we stop talking about your brother and watch a movie?"

We actually made it through the whole movie without talking. Alice kept texting someone, but I ignored it the best that I could, "Who the hell do you keep texting?"

"My bro…never mind. No one; I'll stop." She put her phone on the bedside table next to her, "See, no more."

I pretended like I didn't catch her almost slip-up about her brother. I knew what she was doing. She was trying to get my curiosity built up, but I wasn't going to fall for it.

Monday came around and we were headed to the mall to do our school shopping. We wanted to get it out of the way to free up the rest of the week. Thankfully, Alice already knew what we needed. My mom was able to get me registered for school before they left because of her being a teacher at the same school where I'll be attending.

I let Alice drive and I wished we were in my car. She had me almost pissing my pants. Not from laughter, but from being scared. I was reconsidering the idea of carpooling with her. I'd much rather do all the driving myself and not risk my life every day I let her drive. I'd like to make it to school or anywhere else with dry pants.

We made it to the mall and I fell out of the car yelling, "LAND! LAND! LAND!"

"Geez, Bella, you think you could be a little more dramatic?"

"Not dramatic enough," I chuckled, "Who the hell taught you to drive, anyway? I think I peed in my shorts a little," I joked.

Alice stuck her tongue out at me, "Shut it, Bella. I happen to be a very good driver."

"In your dreams, Mario Andretti," I retorted, copying her actions and sticking my tongue out at her.

We continued our walk into the mall. I'd still throw a joke at her about her driving every once in a while. Her only defense was to stick her tongue out at me.

During our walk through the mall, I honestly think we visited just about every store. We were finally taking a break to have some lunch.

Alice and I chose to eat at separate places. She was in the mood for Chinese and I wanted a Philly Steak sandwich.

I was halfway through my sandwich when I looked up and saw Edward walking toward us, "Alice, you didn't? Please tell me you didn't call your brother to meet us here." She looked guilty, "Dammit, Alice," I shoved myself away from the table to leave, "I'll take a cab home."

"Bella, SIT. DOWN! I'll take you home after we're done eating." She glanced over her shoulder at Edward who had just walked up, "Would you like to join us?"

I growled at her. I was still standing when Edward stepped over to pull a chair out. He looked at me, "Bella, can we start over, please?"

I hadn't really looked at him. I was too afraid that I'd want to punch him; again, "I don't…"

"C'mon, Alice said you're still embarrassed about what happened. I'm over it; honest. Please sit? I promise I'm a really nice guy once you get to know me." He looked over at Alice, "Right, Alice?"

Alice nodded, "You just couldn't let it go? You couldn't give me a full week before you played mediator?" I was sounding really bitchy and I knew it. Alice was definitely a pushy little thing.

"Finish eating your food. It looks good, actually. What is it? A Philly from _Connors_?" Edward asked.

"Yes," I answered through gritted teeth.

"I think I'll go get one for myself. I'll be right back," he said, walking off.

As soon as he was out of ear shot, I pounced, "Alice, how could you do this to me? All I needed was a little time and you pushed it. I don't know if I can handle this." I shook my head, "Why are you pushing so much anyway? It's like you want me to go insane." Alice got up from her seat to stand in front of me.

"It was meant to be this way; I've seen it." She whispered, "You and my brother are meant to be together," she explained.

I gave her a disbelieving look, "What in the hell is that supposed to mean? And you've seen it? What the fuck are you, some kind of witch fortune teller from the circus?" It was obvious I was quite irritated.

"Yes."

"Excuse me?" Just before I fired off another question, it dawned on me what she really said. I was only asking a rhetorical question, but the look on her face was serious.

"Yes, I'm a witch. Not so much a fortune teller, but I can see things before they happen," she said, smiling.

I had to sit down, now. I knew there was a weird look on my face, but I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I really did want to believe her, but I didn't.

A few minutes later, Edward came back with his food and noticed the expression on my face, "What's wrong with her?"

"I told her," Alice replied, returning to her seat.

"I thought you were gonna wait?" Edward asked, sitting down next to Alice, across from me.

"Well, she sort of let the cat outta the bag herself and asked me," she replied, picking up her drink and taking sip.

"Did you tell her everything?" Edward asked nonchalantly as he looked over at me. It was obvious what she told me was true by the way he was reacting.

Alice shrugged her shoulders, "Some. I'll tell her the rest back at the house. I don't think the mall is a good place to tell her the rest," she explained.

"Can you both stop talking like I'm not sitting right here? For fucks sakes," I growled out.

They both replied, "Sorry," together.

Edward started eating his food. I couldn't even think about finishing mine. I completely lost my appetite.

A million things kept running through my mind. The only thing that was sticking out was the story that Marcus had told me; where he mentioned witches and warlocks.

This was real life. All the fairytale movies I watched as a kid, made me wonder if there really were any other supernatural creatures out there. I've already encountered Vampires and now, witches?

I may seem to take things and keep secrets very well, but that doesn't mean that I don't think about them occasionally. I get chills sometimes, when I'm by myself, thinking about all the things I've encountered. After having Anthony in my life, some stuff shouldn't surprise me, but it does.


	8. Chapter 8

**All mistakes are my own. SM owns all characters.**

 **2/3/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 8**

 **BPOV**

* * *

I sat glancing between Alice and Edward. They were acting as if nothing of importance was happening. To me, it was all important. They couldn't drop such a bombshell on me and carry on like they told me it was raining - like it was nothing. They had to be trying to pull a prank on me.

I continued watching as Edward finished his food, burping as he slurped up the rest of his drink.

I wasn't sure what we were going to do next, "So, where to next?" I had to stop thinking about the stuff that's not supposed to be real.

"Didn't you need to get a new phone?" Alice asked as she stood from the table to throw away her trash.

"Yeah, if you don't mind? This one..." I raised up my old phone to show them. "...keeps freezing up and the screen's cracked," I answered, getting up and following Alice and Edward to the garbage bin.

We were in and out of the cellphone store, in no time. I knew what I wanted right away and thank goodness, it wasn't that busy. I was the proud owner of the newest Galaxy phone.

"All set," I said, slipping my new phone into my back pocket, and then looked up." My house?" I asked, looking at Alice. She looked over at Edward.

"Do you mind if he comes over? We can head down to the beach or hang out by the pool," she suggested, but I was reluctant about agreeing to let him come over.

I didn't care what she said about Edward and I being meant to be together. There was no way I was pursuing him. She had another thing coming if she thought forcing me to spend time with him would change that. She was definitely missing a few screws in that head of hers.

But, I agreed, begrudgingly, to Edward coming over. I planned on staying as far away from him, as possible.

Edward followed us to my house. I noticed the truck he was driving. It definitely suited him. I honestly expected him to have a little sports car. He seemed like the type of guy who wanted to flaunt what he had. Well, that was my first impression, but I guess I shouldn't have judged a book by its cover. There's still time for him to prove me wrong.

When we got to my house, I was true to myself and tried to stay as far away from Edward. I continually felt his eyes on me. I ignored him, not wanting to give him any indication that I was interested. Since he looked exactly like Anthony, all I wanted to do was beat the shit out of him. It was like re-opening an old wound when I looked at his face.

He tried to get me by myself a few times, but I dodged him the best I could. I stuck by Alice, like glue.

It was getting late, around dinner time. I wasn't sure if Edward was staying, but dinner was getting made regardless. I decided to cook instead of ordering out. I was making chicken enchiladas; a whole Mexican meal.

Alice helped me the best she could while Edward hung out in the living room. I was sure he could keep himself occupied long enough considering Phil spared no expense on making up his entertainment center. A huge seventy inch LCD flat screen TV graced the wall, a stereo system that would put a club to shame, movies galore and every video game system you could think of.

From the kitchen, I could hear a movie playing. I wasn't sure, but it sounded like an action movie. I could hear explosions and gunfire. Those were my favorites. I only liked watching chick-flicks every once in a while.

Alice and I finished dinner and decided to join Edward. Alice made a plate for him and brought it with us. He paused the movie while we ate.

"This is really good. Where'd you learn to cook like this?" Edward asked before he shoved another huge bite into his mouth.

"Um…my grandma Swan and my mom. A lot of other stuff, I taught myself," I told him and smiled. The smile dropped as soon as I realized I did it.

We continued eating, nothing being said until I remembered that Alice was supposed to explain some stuff to me about her being a witch. I glanced up at her, "So, Alice, you were supposed to explain some stuff to me."

"Oh, that."

"Yes, that. I've kept my mouth shut until now, so start talking." I chuckled, "You said you were a witch. What's up with that?" I half smiled at her, thinking maybe the entire thing was a joke. Nothing should surprise me anymore.

Alice straightened up in her seat and looked over at Edward. He nodded a couple of times, telling her to go ahead and tell me.

"Well," she sighed, "It's true; I'm a witch. My mom is, too," she said, shrugging like it was no big deal.

I nodded my head so she knew I heard her, "What about your dad, Evan and you, Edward? Are all of you witches?"

Edward shook his head, "No; It's rare that Wicca powers are passed from mother to son. It's always the mother to daughter. There's a 98% chance for the daughter to inherit her powers from her mom. The same goes for the males. If our dad were a Warlock, there would have been a 98% chance that I and or Evan would have inherited the powers," Edward explained and I understood for the most part.

"So, if Alice ever has a daughter, there would be a huge chance that her daughter would be a witch, too?" I wanted to make sure that I understood them correctly.

"Exactly," Alice responded.

"So, do they have witch schools like in Harry Potter?" I asked, wondering just how ridiculous my question sounded, but you never know. I've already brought myself into the supernatural world, so anything was possible.

"No, silly," Alice replied, "We do have spell books, though."

"That's interesting," I retorted, getting up from my seat on the couch to take my plate to the kitchen. Alice and Edward followed me.

Alice leaned up against the center island, "Do you have any more questions?"

My curiosity was getting the better of me. I didn't want to mention Vampires, but maybe other _out of the ordinary_ things, "Are there any other supernatural things out there? I mean, you're a witch, so there has to be other stuff, right?" I was playing dumb, but little did they know, I already knew of one other kind of supernatural being.

"Well, there is…"

"Alice, maybe Bella should find this stuff out on her own," suggested Edward.

"Why? If she's gonna find out, maybe she should at least have a heads up so she won't be so surprised," Alice replied.

Edward shook his head, scrunching up his nose in disagreement but I pushed for more answers, "At this point, not much will surprise me, so yeah, how about we start with werewolves?"

Alice nodded, "That's easy."

"Where?" If I was living amongst werewolves, I'd wanna know.

"Everywhere across the United States. More so in the Pacific Northwest where you came from," Alice answered, but she cringed after she said it.

"You're kidding me, right? My dad could be living dead smack in the middle of a wolf pack and not even know it," I simply stated, sounding incredulously surprised.

Alice and Edward both nodded their heads.

"Should I be concerned? Should I warn him?" I asked, suddenly feeling a little panicked.

"No, the wolves that live in that area, protect the humans of that whole region from other stuff," Alice explained, and I wondered what other stuff.

They shared a look between each other, "Like what? What the hell could be worse than werewolves?"

"Well, first of all, there are wolves, and then there are werewolves. The wolves that live throughout the U.S are shape shifters and can phase between wolf and human when they need to. Werewolves are mostly found in Eastern Europe, but they can't help when they turn. It's true about werewolves only changing during a full moon and they're highly dangerous," Alice continued to explain. This information really did surprise me and I acted as if it didn't stun me.

"You said _other stuff;_ what types of other stuff? Like Orcs from _**'Lord of the Rings'**_ **,** demons, the wicked witch of the west?" I was sounding sarcastic, but Alice didn't flinch when I was naming off the different things.

"You'd be surprised, honestly," she answered, smiling slightly at me.

I turned away from them and walked to the back window, looking out over the ocean, "So, it's all true? Marcus was right," I whispered to myself, but not quiet enough.

"Who's Marcus?" Edward asked, "And what's all true?"

He was standing right behind me and when I turned to look at him, my heart felt like it stopped. I took in a huge deep breath, trying to collect myself. Images of Anthony were flashing in my head. I stumbled a little and caught myself on the window seal.

How could I not think about my past when I looked at him? I always came back to that question. It's like I'm on repeat. If there was anyone who could read my mind, they'd tell me to shut up, already.

Edward must've noticed my uneasiness and took a step back, but not before he touched my arm and asked, "Are you okay?"

I flinched back from him, "I'm…I'm fine." I glanced over to Alice, pleadingly, "I have to tell you something, but before I do, I don't want any secrets kept between us." I turned to look at Edward, "You have to give me space, please. This is already hard on me enough as it is because you're identical to my ex."

I walked over and sat down next to Alice, "First of all, why'd you act like you didn't know what a doppelganger was? You're a witch, Alice, you had to know."

"I did and I'm sorry. Don't get me wrong, I'm really interested in learning more about my brother's doppelganger," she said, placing her hand on mine.

"It's more like Edward is Anthony's doppelganger," I said, glancing up at Edward.

"How do you figure? You said Anthony was a senior in high school when you met him. He should be graduated by now, making him at least a year older than Edward."

I shook my head, "Try a hundred and two years older," I stated, matter-of-factually.

Edward choked on air. I was lucky he wasn't taking a drink, "Excuse me?" He stepped closer to us.

"You heard me right. Anthony was 120 years old when he and I got together. He and his brother posed as high school students; they're vampires," I said quickly, but I knew they heard me.

"You know about Vampires?" Alice asked, with surprise in her voice.

"Yes." I lowered my head, feeling a little embarrassed to admit something like that, "I only know of four, though; one being my ex." I went on to explain who they were and how sweet Marcus and Claire had been to me, but Alice kept looking at me like I was too much of a softie.

"Wow," Edward said, "And you don't know of anything else? Well, until now," Edward inquired.

"That would be correct, but from now on, nothing will probably surprise me ever, again."

Alice got up and started pacing the room, "Alice, what's wrong?"

She stepped closer to me and whispered, "Did you let him feed from you?"

Edward excused himself and left the room as soon as the question fell from Alice's lips, claiming he needed the restroom before I could answer, "Yes, why?"

"Oh, God."

"Alice, you're scaring me. Tell me what's wrong," I demanded.

She looked really worried now. "Did you ever drink or taste his blood?"

"NO!" I gagged. "That's disgusting. Why would you ask me that?"

"He could find you if he wanted to. Once a Vampire feeds from a human, and doesn't kill them, they can find them anywhere in the world if they needed to only if his or her blood got into that person's blood stream. It doesn't matter where you are or how long it's been. It's like a GPS system. Would there ever be a reason why Anthony would come looking for you?"

I shook my head, "No. I asked him to give me time to see if I could deal with him cheating on me. That's all I asked from him, but he's the one who left and never said a word to anyone. I honestly don't think he'd come looking for me," I explained. I did hope what I was saying was true and he didn't come looking for me. There was no reason. I didn't want him back in my life...whatsoever.

I sighed and slumped back into my chair. Alice sat down next to me and placed her hand on my knee, "I think you need to start drinking Vervain Tea just in case. Vampires can compel you and make you do anything they want, and having this in your system, will protect you from compulsion if he were to ever come looking for you. If you didn't have it, he could make you..."

"Wait! Are you gonna give this tea to me?" I asked, scooting close to the edge of my seat, "Because, by all means, have at it. I don't want anything to do with him. I just want him to stay away from me and out of my life."

Alice leaned closer to me and whispered, "Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure," I answered.

"I know this is personal, but I need to know. Did you ever have sex with him?" Her brows were raised, waiting for my answer.

I nodded, shyly, "Yes, why?"

She squeezed her eyes shut. "Dammit, that's right. You did tell me that. I really wish that weren't true."

"I'm sorry," I said, feeling about an inch tall from her reaction. "I thought I was in love with him."

"That makes this issue a whole lot worse." She paced back and forth some more.

"Okay, so what difference does it make whether or not if I have or haven't?"

"It makes the bond stronger. It'd be like he changed you; you'd be a homing beacon for him, so I don't know if there's any way to block your location. I'd have to ask my mom," she said, getting up from her seat and pulling her phone out of her pocket.

I assumed she was calling her mom, so I sat back and waited for her while she continued with her call. That information had me scared shitless, now. Having sex with him is now the biggest mistake I've ever made.

Edward came back in the room and walked over to me, "Can I sit?"

"Sure."

He sat down in the chair next to me and turned to face me, "I know you don't want anything to do with me, but I wish you'd give me a chance to prove I'm nothing like your ex. I'll dye my hair and get tattoos if that's what it'll take."

I giggled at him, shaking my head, "Why? Is it because of what Alice said about us?"

"I won't lie, that's part of it, but before you even decked me, I don't know…I can't explain it. You sorta slapped me in the face before you even touched me," he clarified, giving me a gorgeous crooked grin.

I tilted my head, looking up at him, "This is so hard for me. It's harder because of..."

"Because I look just like him; I know. I can't help that," he said, cutting me off mid-sentence.

"You have to understand, though, if I give us a chance to even be friends, I don't want to feel like I'm obligated because Alice says so. I have to be sure of myself. The one thing I do know is, I don't want him back in my life; he shattered me," I expressed, giving him a pained look.

"I understand; I really do. I just want a chance and I promise not to push you. I just want your friendship, right now. I think that's really important," he conveyed and I felt a little relief that all he wanted was a friendly truce.

I smiled at him, "Can you give me some time to think about it?"

"Absolutely; anything you want," he replied.

"Thank you. That's all I ask." We smiled at each other, "I'm gonna get a drink. I'll be right back; you want something?"

"No thanks. I'm sure Alice is almost done on the phone. I'll see what's going on," he said, getting up and walking into the living room where Alice was on the phone.

I pulled a glass from the cupboard and poured myself some filtered water, from the fridge.

Leaning up against the kitchen island, I took a deep breath. _Could I let Edward into my_ _life?_ That's the big question of the evening. _Even if it is just as friends?_ Everyone can use a friend and I wanted to give him a chance at a friendship. I'm so afraid, though. I'm afraid of being drawn toward him because of who he looks like or hating him for the same reason. _Ugh, fuck my life!_

I had been in the kitchen for a few minutes before Alice and Edward came to join me, "Okay, my mom agrees with me about the Vervain, so she'll be over tomorrow night to bring some. She also says she'll have to look in her spell books to see if there's a blocking spell she can use. Does anyone else know about Anthony? I mean, about him and his family being Vampires?"

"No, not that I know of. As far as I know, they've never compelled me. They promised and I trusted them. Anthony admitted to doing it before I knew, but afterward, I couldn't tell you if he had. And now that I think about it, he probably compelled me every time we were together." I dropped my chin to my chest, feeling the hurt edge its way up into my chest. I wanted so badly to hold my emotions in and knew that the moment I got a little time to myself, the dam would break.

Alice smiled, "We have no way of knowing, so how about we forget all about the supernatural crap and watch a movie? We need something funny. Who's in?"

"Me," Edward and I answered together.

Alice grabbed my hand and started dragging me toward the media room, "I was eye-balling _**Due Date,**_ have you seen it yet?"

"Nope, sounds good, though." I plopped down on the couch while Alice helped herself to the DVD collection. There were so many that I haven't even seen, yet.

We had a great time watching the movie. I hadn't laughed so much in months and it felt good. I nearly pissed my pants when Peter convinced Darryl to drive over the rain gutters on the side of the road and made Zach Galifianakis - Ethan - fly up in the air. That shit was hilarious.

Edward left shortly after the movie was over. It was getting late and I was pretty tired. I was sure I'd pass out as soon as my head hit the pillow, but Alice had other plans.

"Do you have any questions?"

"Is it nasty? I don't think I could handle drinking nasty tasting stuff." I would have to endure the taste anyway just in case Anthony ever did come back.

"No. I've heard it has a taste much like Chamomile tea. This is all just a precaution if he decides to show up. Which we all hope doesn't happen, right?" She looked me in the eyes to gauge my reaction, but I didn't have one.

I nodded, "I don't want anything to do with him."

"Good, now, I don't know about you, but I'm tired. Mind if I crash in here with you?"

I giggled at her, "Are you seriously asking me that? You haven't asked before, so by all means, sleep away."

We giggled and settled into bed. We were asleep in no time.


	9. Chapter 9

**All mistakes are my own. SM owns all characters.**

 **2/4/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 9**

 **BPOV**

* * *

After only a day, I was getting used to Alice being around and the next day after our huge talk about witches, Vampires and all the like, we didn't do anything. We hung around the pool and I was finally getting a pretty good tan.

Around six o'clock, I heard the chime for the doorbell. Alice and I hurried into the house and when I opened it, Alice's mom and Edward were there. I saw Carlisle walking up the sidewalk behind them.

"Hey, c'mon in." I moved out of the way for all three of them to come in. Alice led the way into the living room, "Can I get anyone something to drink?"

They declined, so I took a seat on the loveseat next to Alice.

Esme walked over and stood in front of the fireplace, "Okay, Bella, you need to drink this tea every day." She handed me a small jar that had tiny white flowers and stuff that looked like dried leaves. "Just steep a tablespoon of the tea for about three to four minutes before you drink it. You can add a little sugar if you need to. It won't mess with the affects at all."

"Thank you, Esme."

"You're welcome, sweetie and I'll have to do some reading to see if there's a blocking spell that I can use." She smiled, sweetly, at me and patted my hand. "We'll make sure you're protected the best that we can."

I nodded, looking between Alice and her mom. My eyes landed on Carlisle, "Does my mom and Phil know about any of this?"

"Nothing," he answered, "Alice asked permission first before she told you and to say we were surprised that you already knew about Vampires, was overwhelming just a bit, but we do need to keep your parents in the dark as much as possible," Carlisle explained.

I nodded, agreeing with him. The less they knew about the supernatural world, the better.

"Okay." Esme turned toward Alice, "You ready for dinner?"

Alice said, "Sure."

Then Esme looked at me, again. "You have any questions?"

"I'm worried that if by chance Anthony does show up, is Edward protected, too? I honestly don't know how he would react if he knew the two of them could be twins."

Esme placed her hand on my shoulder, "Don't worry about my son, he's protected, and somehow, we'll make sure that everyone else is, too. We'll do the best we can."

"Thank you, 'cause, I'd just…I don't know, I wouldn't want anything happening to anyone because of me," I expressed, "Oh, and um...since Alice can see the future, more or less, is there any way she can channel something to come to her. Maybe see if she can see Anthony?"

"Alice is still working on her visions. She'll have to be pretty invested in wanting to see if anything happens." Esme turned and looked at Alice, "Maybe you can work on seeing if anything comes up."

Alice nodded, "I'll do whatever I can."

Edward stood and came to kneel in front of me, "Hey, don't worry about me. As much as I'm flattered by it, don't. You can't worry yourself over something we don't even know will happen, but better safe than sorry, right?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Let's just hope he never shows up here, but now that I know what I know, my gut tells me otherwise." Edward stood and backed away so that I could stand.

Alice sidled up next to me, "We'll be okay," she said, "Now, mom, you said something about dinner?"

"Yes; you girls go get changed. We're ready to go, so chop-chop." She clapped her hands then fanned them to shoo us away.

We ran upstairs and changed. It was Tuesday and I hope my mom and Phil were having a great time. I knew they'd be home this coming weekend, but I was missing them like crazy.

We all piled into Carlisle's Escalade. I sat between Alice and Edward in the back seat. I felt awkward being so close to Edward and a little secure at the same time. I couldn't tell if it was coming from him or Alice.

We ended up having dinner at a nice little quaint restaurant; mostly American food. I wasn't complaining; I didn't have to cook. Carlisle insisted that he was paying for me. He said it was the least he could do for his best-friends kid. It didn't bother me that he said it that way. I loved Phil; he's a great guy and I honestly didn't mind being referred to as his kid. Phil's more or less my dad's stand in while he's back in Washington, anyway.

There wasn't a whole lot of talk during dinner. They asked about the classes I'd be taking. All of them were Advanced and Honors. I was hoping I could graduate early. If I were still in Washington, I'd definitely graduate, but I wasn't sure how things went in Florida. It all depended on the school system.

Alice gave me a pouty look when I mentioned graduating early, "What? I'm sure you could graduate early, too, if you got your butt in gear."

"How'd you get so smart?"

"I had a lot of time on my hands before and after He-who-must-not-be-named. I studied a lot and did tons of extra credit. That's why all my classes are Advanced and Honors. One of the classes is college prep," I explained, returning Alice's pouty face.

Esme smiled at me, "Your parents must be really proud of you."

"I'd like to think they are," I retorted, reaching for my drink.

"Your Advanced English Lit class will be with Mrs. Warrick," Edward said, his smile gleaming at me. "I had her last year."

My stomach flipped when he smiled. I couldn't help but smile back at him, "I think that's who I have."

The subject of school was dropped and Carlisle started asking Edward questions about playing baseball. I tuned them out and put all my attention on Alice and Esme.

Alice and I were making plans to redecorate my room when a young girl, about my age, approached the table, "Edward, it's so good to see you. I haven't seen you since school got out for summer."

"Hi, Charlotte," Edward said through gritted teeth with a fake smile.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cullen, good to see you," Charlotte said, glancing between Carlisle and Esme. Then she glanced at Alice, "Alice, nice to see you." Alice nodded.

"Good to see you, Charlotte. How's your parents?" Carlisle asked.

"They're great. We just got back from our trip to Europe." She brought her attention back to Edward, "Did you get the letters I sent?"

"I did."

Charlotte then glanced over at me. She must have noticed my smile after Edward spoke to her in a clipped tone, "And, who do we have here?"

"This is Bella; Edwards girlfriend," piped in Alice.

Charlotte's face fell and I cringed, "Girlfriend?"

Everyone kept quiet and looked over at me, but I didn't say anything. Alice was glutton for punishment…later.

"Yes, she's new to Florida. My dad is her step-dad's best-friend. She just moved here from Washington to live with her mom," Alice explained. She seemed way too forthcoming with that bit of information.

"Oh, how nice," Charlotte said with a fake smile. She looked over at Edward, "Can I speak to you, please…privately?"

He hesitated. "Sure," pushing back from the table, "Excuse me for a minute. This won't take long."

Edward and Charlotte walked off toward the front exit of the restaurant, "What the hell, Alice? You can't say crap like that. I'm not his girlfriend."

"You will be. Why wait?"

"Mary Alice, I think that was rude and too forward," Esme scolded.

"Mom, Charlotte's a b-word and you know it. She needs to stay away from Edward. She's probably out there yelling at him for God knows what and trying to make him feel guilty for something stupid. You know how much she manipulated him," whined Alice.

Esme placed her hand over Alice's, "Honey, your brother needs to make that decision on his own. You don't need to throw Bella in her face when her and your brother aren't even together."

"Alice, your brother already broke up with her. Just leave it alone," Carlisle said, pushing back from the table, "I'm gonna go pay the bill and check on Edward."

I thought I'd feel uneasy being around them, but it was as if I'd known these people my entire life.

I kept my mouth shut about the whole Edward and Charlotte situation. Alice would get my two cents when we got back to my house, but for some reason, I kept wondering what was being said between them. I felt a small twinge of jealousy wash over me, so I pushed it away. I didn't want or need to have those feelings. I hadn't even decided to be friends with him…yet.

Carlisle came back with Edward following him, "You ladies ready?"

We nodded and headed out to the car.

Edward was behind me as we walked out. He gently tugged on my elbow to hold me back, "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

I nodded, looking over to Alice. I put my finger up, asking for a minute.

"I just wanted to tell you that Charlotte and I aren't together. We haven't been for months," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Why are you telling me this?"

He shook his head, "I felt like I needed to tell you. I just...I want...I want..." he stuttered, "I needed you to know that I'm not with anyone."

"Okay, but you're not obligated to me, though. You can be with whoever you want," I said, turning to walk toward the car.

"Bella?" I turned back to him. "I guess I wanted you to know because I wanna get to know you better, and I'm not interested in anyone else," he said, stepping closer to me.

I sighed, "I still need time, Edward, but thank you for telling me."

He nodded, looking rejected, as we started walking to the car.

We were all quiet on the ride back, aside from Carlisle and Esme talking to each other.

When we got back to my house, Alice and I climbed out, saying goodnight. Edward looked like he wanted to say something, but opted to give us a little wave.

Once we were inside and the door was closed, Alice didn't give me a chance to say anything first, "Look, I know you're pissed at me for telling Charlotte that you're Edwards' girlfriend, but I hate that bitch. She's nothing but trouble. All her and Edward did was argue with each other. She was never happy with anything he did. He loves baseball, and she gave him an ultimatum; either quit or it was over between the two, so he chose to end it. He didn't love her. He thought he did in the beginning, but she started to become really possessive over him. She even threw a fit one time when he made plans with our dad and even tried to say he got her pregnant just to keep him."

"Alice, like I told Edward, he's not obligated to me for anything. He's free to be with who he wants. I'm not sure I could subject myself to anymore heartache. He agreed to leave it alone for now and I'm asking you for the same thing. And for God's sake, Alice, please don't tell anyone else that I'm his girlfriend."

"Fine, but I know you will be and I'll be the first to say _I told you so._ "

"Alice, please?"

She put her hands up, surrendering to my plea, "Fine."

We changed for bed, putting on a movie.

The rest of the week went really slow. Edward came by on Wednesday and all three of us went to the boardwalk. I got to witness first hand just how popular Edward was at school.

Most of the people saying _hello_ to him were female. I just kept my head down and continued walking, but most of all, Edward seemed to walk rather close to me. I didn't realize how close until he went into a trading card store while Alice and I waited outside.

"You two seem pretty cozy walking so close to each other. Anything I should know about?" Alice asked, teasingly.

"No, Alice; it's all him," I retorted.

She gave me a knowing look, "Are you gonna give him a chance?"

I huffed, "Alice, please. I've barely known you two weeks and him one. That's no way enough time for me to make any kind of decision. You and your all-knowing self need to back off."

"Can I at least ask what he talked to you about back at the restaurant the other night?"

I sat down on a bench before I answered, "He wanted to make sure I knew nothing was going on between him and Charlotte."

"And?"

"And, that he's only interested in me." I scooted over on the bench for her to sit, "Another thing, IF I decide and I stress IF I decide to give Edward a chance, he'll be the first to know. I'm not trying to be a bitch and I'm grateful that you and I have become friends, but all of this is just so overwhelming. It's like I'm on a rollercoaster. Anthony and I jumped right into our relationship. There wasn't any pursuing or pleading; we just jumped right in. I don't wanna do that with Edward. I think we deserve to take our time, especially after what you told me about Charlotte."

"That's understandable." She finally plopped down next to me, "Now, let's people watch."

Later on that night, we settled into bed after popping in, yet again, another movie. An hour into it, we were passed out. The movie was that damn boring.

Saturday morning finally rolled around, and I woke up with Alice's legs stretched out over mine. Somehow, she got completely sideways in the bed. I just shook my head, rubbed my eyes and shoved her legs off me. That woke her enough to make her sit straight up like she was possessed. Her hair was all over the place, hanging over her face and sticking up in spots.

"Morning sunshine." She moved her hair out of her face, "I have no clue how you took over the entire bed, but you're a bed hog."

"Sorry," she grumbled, turning around in the bed the right way, "I didn't sleep very well. I kept having visions; the same one over and over."

I got up from the bed, "Should I ask?"

"It was you and Edward or Anthony. I'm not sure, but we were at school. You were having a confrontation with someone, but I couldn't see this persons face," she explained. I gave her an odd look, studying her.

"Male or female?"

"I couldn't see that either," she said, squinting her eyes like she was thinking really hard.

I shook my head, "Ugh...whatever; when's this supposed to happen?"

"I couldn't really tell, but not in the next week or so. It happens at school so anytime during the school year, I suppose," she replied, plopping back onto the bed.

"That helps a whole lot," I said, sarcastically, "Now I'm gonna be looking over my shoulder all the time."

I really hadn't witnessed Alice's future telling abilities and I wasn't sure how I should react. Personally, I felt like I was in an alternate universe with all this weird shit going on.

The same goes for any of her magic. That's even if she knew how to do any of that. She hadn't done anything to further prove she's a witch, but then again, why would she lie about it. Same goes with Esme. So, I guess I didn't have any choice but believe that Alice and Esme were both witches. Edward and Carlisle seemed highly aware of it, too.

There's nothing I can do; whatever happens, happens. Maybe I should seek information about my grades and whether or not I'll be graduating early. That wouldn't be cheating...would it? I could even ask for a winning lottery ticket.

Alice and I got dressed and headed downstairs to the kitchen. My mom and Phil would be home around one and it was already ten in the morning.

We didn't have anything planned for the day. Alice was leaving to go home before my parents arrived. She claimed she had some stuff to take care of.

That was fine by me. I'd at least get a little quiet time to myself before mom and Phil got home.

Alice's company was much appreciated. I had a feeling she'd be around a lot more. Edward even showed up, unannounced, a few times, but I knew why he came over; to try and get to know me better. He definitely wasn't giving up. I was kinda liking his pursuit of me...almost. It was a new experience I could jot down in the history books.

I'm not gonna sit here and lie; I'm very attracted to Edward and that scares the daylights out of me. I'm afraid of developing a like for him; afraid that my feelings for him would be confused for the love I felt for Anthony. Edward doesn't deserve that. As nice and forthcoming he's been toward me, he deserves to have my undivided attention, but it's taking some time for me to get used to the fact that he's not Anthony.

He doesn't act like him and has a completely different swagger to himself. Again, I'm not gonna lie...I like it. I'll keep that to myself, though. I don't want little miss nosy to get her hopes up too much.

An hour and a half later, the doorbell rang. I couldn't figure out who would be coming over.

Alice headed upstairs while I answered the door. I glanced out the front window, toward the driveway. Edwards' truck was parked behind my car.

So much for some peace and quiet.

As I reached to open the door, and Alice came tearing down the stairs with her rolling suitcase, making a quick beeline for the exit.

The doorbell rang again, but before I opened it, Alice was getting my bitch-brow, "Why such a rush?"

"I told you I had some stuff to do," she retorted, reaching for the door handle.

"You knew he was coming, didn't you?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "He may have mentioned it last night."

She yanked the door open, "Alice, you're about to get my foot up your ass."

"Bye, love you." She hugged me, kissed my cheek and ran for her car.

I looked up at Edward. It was the first time I realized how tall he was and the top of my head came to his chin. And the fact that he'd done something different with his hair or I never noticed before. "Hi, c'mon in. I was just making some lunch."

"Hi, yourself. I told Alice I was coming by today. Did she not tell you?" He asked, following me into the kitchen.

I turned to grab a tomato from the fridge. I was making BLT sandwiches, "No, and she's being a little too..."

"Pushy? Yeah, I know. She's always been like that. You can't help but love her for it sometimes," he said, taking a seat at the breakfast bar.

"I've known your sister for two weeks and I feel like I've known her my whole life," I said, slicing off the first slice of tomato.

Edward chuckled, "Well, I've known her, her whole life and she's definitely a loved pain in the ass." Edward watched as I put two sandwiches together and placed them on separate plates. I added some macaroni salad and grabbed us both a couple of sodas from the fridge.

"Hope you're hungry. You're eating Alice's lunch considering she had to leave in a hurry." I pushed the plate toward him and walked around the breakfast bar, sitting down.

I figured the least I could do was sit next to him. I caught his very intoxicating scent as I sat down; one of my favorites. Dolce & Gabbana: Light Blue. I smiled up at him, "What?"

"Nothing." I had to give my head a slight shake to clear my thoughts. "I hope you like BLT's," I inquired, picking up my sandwich and taking a huge bite.

"Love 'em." He picked up his sandwich with wide eyes and shoved the sandwich into his mouth, "Mmm...Oh...Ma...Gah!" He moaned through his mouth full of food. I didn't make my BLT's any better than anyone else, except maybe the mayo I put on it. I give it a little seasoning.

I giggled, "You like?"

"Fuck yeah," he said after he swallowed. I wasn't even sure he chewed.

We ate for a few more minutes before my cell phone rang, "Hello."

" _Hey, sweetie."_ My mom; It was so good to hear her voice.

I smiled, "Hey, mom."

" _Listen, Phil and I won't be home today,"_ she said a little too excitedly.

"What?" I screeched into the phone, "I was expecting you today."

" _Sorry, sweetie, Phil and I decided to stay another two weeks because we don't know_ _when we'll be able to take another vacation. We'll be home the weekend before school_ _starts,"_ she explained. _"I already took care of getting my class curriculum done before I left, so I'm all ready. I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner, but we haven't been anywhere with any phone service. We came to the mainland to get some supplies for our bungalow we're staying in."_ It sort of hurt my feelings because I wanted to spend some time with them before we got busy with work and school, but I'm a big girl and I'll just have to get over it.

"When did you decide this?" If it were a last minute decision, I might let it slide.

 _"We decided last night. I'm sorry, honey."_

"That's fine; I'm sure Alice wouldn't mind hanging out with me another two weeks. You guys just have fun and be safe, please...okay? I love you," I reluctantly said. I was a little sad, but I understood why they wanted to stay.

" _We love you, too, sweetie. Call Carlisle and Esme if you need anything, okay? The resort number is still the same if you need to get in touch with us."_

"Okay; love you." I ended the call just as Edward sat his drink down.

I sighed as he glanced over at me, "Sounds like they're not coming home today."

"You could say that." I leaned back in my seat and crossed my arms over my chest, "They won't be back until the weekend before school starts."

"Ah." Was all he said and bit into his sandwich.

I felt bummed and grumbled to myself for a couple of minutes before finishing my lunch. Edward had his gone and was finishing his macaroni salad before I was even halfway through my food. _Can you say...growing boy?_

Edward wiped his face and hands on his napkin, placing it on his cleaned plate, "So, no parentage for two more weeks; lucky you."

"Yeah, lucky me," I said, impassively.

"You don't sound too happy," he stated, turning in his seat to face me.

I sighed, "Eh...I'll be alright. I wanted to spend some time with them before school started. I'm sure I could find things to keep myself busy," I halfheartedly complained.

Edward stared at me for a minute before speaking, "Well, if you'll let me, I'd like the opportunity to help occupy your time."

I felt a little nervous all of a sudden. I didn't want to say the wrong thing and shoot him down on his offer, but a deeper part of me kept nudging me toward him.

"Like today, for instance. I was only gonna stay until your parents got home, buuut..." he trailed off.

"But what?"

"If it's okay with you, I'd like to stay and hang out for a while before you call my sister back over here," he replied, smiling.

"Don't you have a baseball to throw or some weird girls to fight off?" I asked jokingly.

He shook his head, "Not today; it's Saturday," he retorted, getting up from the bar-stool, "C'mon, leave the plates; we'll get them later. Right now, we're hangin' out and getting to know each other," he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me to my feet. He held my hand all the way through the house.

It felt...weird, to say the least, to have a guy holding my hand. It felt good, too. I liked the way his hand felt in mine. It was a little rough from where he plays baseball, but I liked it all the same. I noticed over the last week or so, I really did like him, but I kept pushing him away. I was surprised with myself for being as comfortable as I am with him here. I know I keep repeating myself, but how the hell am I supposed to keep from comparing him and Anthony? I felt like an idiot.

He pulled me over to the couch and gave me a little push to sit down before walking over to the TV and popping in a movie, "What movie?" I asked, hoping it wasn't one of the movies that I absolutely hated or it was so damn boring that it would cause me to fall asleep.

"You'll see," he said, walking back over to me. He grabbed the remote and adjusted the volume as the TV came on. He skipped through all the previews before I could determine what movie he picked. I smiled as I watched him because I do the same thing when I'm watching a movie.

Edward turned and looked at me, "I really don't know what movie it is. I just grabbed it and put it in."

"What if I don't like it?" I hadn't glanced at the TV to see what was waiting to be played. I was watching him as he splayed a smirk on his face.

"C'mon, I think you'll like it. It'll give us a chance to learn more about each other," he pleaded, replacing his smirk with a heart stopping grin then switched to a pout when I looked at him quizzically, "Please?"

"How about we play twenty questions, instead? I'm not really in the mood for a movie," I counter-offered.

He nodded, "Okay, we'll save the movie for another time. I wasn't really in the mood for _Desperado_ , anyway," he agreed. I turned so we were facing each other, "You wanna go first since you suggested it?"

"You said you didn't know what the movie was." I playfully smacked his arm.

He jerked his arm away. "Ouch. Now I know you're abusive."

"I am not... you jackass." I crossed my arms over my chest and huffed. It took a second to decide on what to ask first, "Okay, since I'm going first, why baseball?"

"That's an easy question." He draped his arm along the back of the couch, "I've loved it since I was a kid; just like Evan. I only hope to make it to the Major Leagues like he did."

I smiled, "I'm sure you will."

"My turn." He smiled over at me. "Um...why'd you decide to move down here...to Florida?"

I shook my head, "You already know some of it."

"I wanna know all of it."

I rolled my eyes at him, thinking, _why the hell not._ We're supposed to be getting to know each other and becoming friends, right? "Once I got down here, I realized I didn't have to face seeing places that Anthony and I went or sleep in the same room where we spent so much time together."

"Okay, I'd like to think it was for me," he smiled flirtatiously, "...but I think you already made your decision before you met me."

I chuckled at him, "You're not gonna start pushing, too, like Alice, are you? You could leave, if you are."

His eyebrows shot up, "No, no, geez, you're touchy." He smiled down at me, "Fine, I'll leave the flirting for another time."

"Thank you. Now, besides any Alice interference, why do you wanna get to know me so badly?" I couldn't figure out what had him so intrigued with me. I could understand if it had everything to do with what Alice told me about us, but I honestly couldn't see what attracted him to me.

"Truthfully?"

I nodded, "That would be nice," I said, sarcastically.

He sighed, "I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but the night you punched my lights out..." His train of thought switched, "Nice right hook, by the way." I smiled over at him, "Anyway, before I turned around after Alice got our attention and saw you..." He trailed off, again, shaking his head.

"Just tell me," I insisted.

He hung his head in embarrassment, "I know this seems weird, but it was like my heart knew you were in the room and the moment I laid eyes on you..." He shook his head, again, "I thought you were the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen and I had a funny feeling in my stomach. Well, until you punched me then that feeling went away. I was so pissed until Alice gave us the short version of why you reacted the way you did. After your dad came back down, I guess, from talking to you, him and your mom were the ones who convinced me to forgive you and try to start over, so that's when I started hounding Alice about you. The weird thing is, after your parents talked to me, that feeling came back and I knew I needed to at least try. And then Alice had to put her two witchin' cents in; telling me that she saw us together and it was meant to be." He sighed heavily, "There you have it; the full truth. Did I get it out in fifty-five seconds or less?"

The whole time he was telling me all this, I watched his mouth as he talked. Then I'd look into his eyes and could tell he was being sincere and by the time he was done, I couldn't help but chuckle because once he got to talking, he rushed everything out like it was the only chance he'd get at telling me. Pretty much the same way I thought about things in my head. All one big fast forward sentence.

I gave a slight shake of my head, thinking about all he said. He did make me feel a little funny, and right now, I was feeling really comfortable with him. I couldn't explain it. Only a week ago, I wanted to snap his neck because he drew all these unwanted memories back into my head and now, after a week of being around him, my whole perspective of him was changing. It was what I was trying so hard to fight and hide.

My mind kept screwing with me, though. What if he's kissing me and I get so caught up in the moment and call him Anthony? That would be way too screwed up.

He glanced over at me when I sighed. I honestly didn't know what to say, but I had to say something. I owed that much to him, "What's so funny?"

I shook my head, "Edward," I smiled, "I'm very flattered by everything you said and for being truthful. Can I be completely honest with you?" He nodded, "Okay," I sighed, "My relationship ended with Anthony about five months ago. I'm still feeling hurt by what he did, but then again, when I'm around you, I see that you're completely different than him." Feeling brave, I reached forward and took his hand, lacing my fingers with his, "When I've touched you by accident and when you were holding my hand earlier, all sorts of things were telling me that _yes,_ I should go for it. Then I get this evil little bitch sitting on my shoulder telling me, _'What's gonna happen if you accidentally call him Anthony?'_ That'd be real screwed up if that happened. What if I did that? You don't deserve it. I couldn't do that to you."

He scooted closer to me, our knees touching. My left knee was almost lying on top of his. I looked down at where our legs were touching. I then closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

Edward took my other hand and propped them on top of our knees. He sucked in a deep breath. I was sure to prepare himself to talk, "I like this," he said, raising our hands, placing a kiss on the back of my hand. I felt my body heat up from his touch. I smiled, closing my eyes; burning this feeling into my memory.

"I like it, too," I whispered.

"Bella, I completely understand why you're scared and being stand-offish, but could you let me make my own decisions about how I feel? I think I might surprise you. It won't be that big of a deal if you call me Anthony. It is my name after all." He kissed the back of my hand, again. I drew in a shaky breath, "Unfortunately, it's my middle name and if it happens and bothers me, I'll tell you, okay, but I honestly don't think you would ever do it to upset me."

Of all middle names, he had to have Anthony as a middle name.

I could feel my resolve crumbling and a lot faster than what I wanted it to. It was almost like he knew what I wanted and needed him to say. I was a sixteen year old girl who's had one serious boyfriend and now, another guy was pursuing me. The only downside... he looks exactly like my ex-boyfriend. Some would call me crazy for even considering giving Edward a second glance, let alone, a chance at a relationship. I wanted it more now than before. I was crazy, but for more than a week, I've fought too hard to keep him at arm's length.

I couldn't be like that anymore, I needed to start living and do what my dad suggested; not let what happened between Anthony and me, rule how I live my life.

I looked up from where our hands were connected, "Fine."

"Fine, what?"

I smiled up at him, feeling my face heat up from my shyness of the situation, "Us, but we need to take everything slow; get to know one another. We could go out and spend time together, but we can't leave Alice out. I don't want her left out."

"Okay. So, no leaving Alice out. We'll start off as friends, right?" I nodded, "That's good, that's good. For now." He smiled mischievously at me.

I couldn't help but smile back.

"What about school?" He asked, looking extra curious.

"What about it?"

"I don't know how I can act around you at school. Can I hold your hand? I know you wanna take things slow, but I really wanna be able to hold your hand." He let go of my hands and scooted a little bit away from me, shaking his head, "Never mind. I'm acting like a possessive boyfriend already and you haven't even agreed to be my girlfriend."

I shook my head at his rambling, "Edward stop. You're not acting possessive, first of all. Second, let's just go with the flow. I don't want your feelings getting hurt if I act hesitant about anything. I'm warming up to you and I won't lie, I'm very attracted to you, but a huge part of me is telling me it's because you look like Anthony; I loved him. I really did and I felt like I was so in love with him and thought he was it for me, but this last week or so, that I've been around you, those feelings I had for him are fading more and more. After the first month of him being gone out of my life, I started feeling less and less for him. I'm almost there and I'll admit, you have a lot to do with it. I feel nothing but hate for him."

Edward had the biggest smile that I've ever seen on his face, "For a sixteen year old, you seem so much older and I'm happy to not be the only one who gets diarrhea of the mouth."

I chuckled. "Sorry, but yeah, I think I grew up quite a bit the second I found out that Anthony was a Vampire." I shook my head, "This is so weird talking to someone about what he and his family are. I never thought...actually I don't know what I thought. Everything's still so surreal to me. Your mom and sister being witches and then there's shape shifting wolves that live around the same area I just moved from. I feel like I'm living in a fairy tale sometimes. Especially lately. I'm just glad you're normal."

"I have my quirks. I'm sure you'll learn all about them over time," he informed me.

I giggled, "Yeah, I've got some too and by the way, I'll be seventeen in September. I'm not too young for you, am I?"

"You're perfect," he replied.

We were silent for a little bit before we decided to go ahead and watch a movie. Not the one he originally put in. We watched _'Fast Five',_ which I absolutely loved. We sat quietly, glancing at each other for the first thirty minutes of the movie, then, I grew some balls and moved closer to him. He wrapped him arm around my shoulder, giving me the opportunity to snuggle into his chest. I kept taking deep breaths to try and control the fast pounding of my heart. It was like his touch was causing my pulse to quicken and warmth to spread; a buzzing feeling, to wash over me. His cologne wasn't helping much, either.

Edward stayed until after dinner. Apparently, he loves my cooking and can't wait to eat more of it. We did make plans to hang out in a couple of days. He needed to get some pitching practice in. He said he'd been neglecting it.

I felt a little awkward when I walked him to the door. I wanted him to hug me or even kiss me, but I remembered that I asked for us to take things slow.

"Can I text you?" He asked when we stepped outside.

"Sure," I replied. We started walking toward the driveway. The awkwardness was becoming more and more.

He turned to face me when we reached the driver side of his truck, "Can I hug you?"

I didn't want to answer right away, so I pretended to be thinking, tapping my finger on my chin, "Hmmm...I don't know."

He looked a little hurt at first until I stepped forward and snaked my arms around him. He didn't hesitate wrapping his arms around my head. Yeah, I was that short to him.

"Thank you," he said into my hair. I could feel him place a kiss on top of my head.

"What for?" I mumbled into his chest. I couldn't help but sniff him. God, I love his smell.

He squeezed me a little tight, "For everything. Being you, letting me hang out with you; for letting me hug you right now."

I gave him a little squeeze in return, "You're welcome. I enjoyed your company and I'm glad we could talk." I squeezed him, again, "And I really like you hugging me."

"Believe me, I really like it, too," he simply stated, "I better go. I wanna be up early and get my practice out of the way. I'll text you when I'm all done," he said, pulling away from me. He slid his hands down my arms until he got to my hands. He laced our fingers together. I was really, really loving his touch.

He kissed the back of my hands before releasing them to open his truck door.

"Have a good practice tomorrow," I said, pushing on his door to close it after he climbed in.

He smiled, "I will. Don't forget to call or text Alice. I'm sure she's going a little crazy about right now."

"I'm sure she is." He started his truck, "Bye, Edward."

"Bye, Bella. I'll talk to you tomorrow," he said before backing away to leave.

I waved before I walked back into the house. A cold chill washed over me before I closed the door. It was a strange feeling, but I ignored it and went inside.

I walked through the whole house, locking up. I was thankful that Edward helped clean the kitchen after dinner.

He was becoming more than I could ever ask for. Yes, I'm young. Seventeen soon, but I felt like I've been through a lifetimes worth of drama. Maybe Alice was right about Edward and I being meant to be, but I kept having a bad feeling about hurting him.

My dad said I'd come around. I wondered if giving Edward a chance was what he was talking about.

I had no idea why I kept questioning myself. _Why couldn't I just let things go?_ It's been five months. _Shouldn't that be long enough? Do I still love Anthony?_ No, I definitely didn't love him anymore. I actually despised him and now that I think about it, when I look at Edward, I see a completely different person. And I couldn't be more thankful.

I made my way upstairs to my room. I decided to hang out there for the rest of the night.

I changed into my sleep clothes then climbed into bed. I grabbed my phone to call Alice. She'd be banging down my door before too long, if I didn't.

She didn't even let the phone ring twice, _"Took you long enough."_

"Excuse me. I needed to get ready for bed. I wouldn't have forgotten to call." I sighed, "Will you be coming back over? I'm sure Phil called your dad and told him they won't be home for another two weeks."

" _Yeah, tomorrow. I would've come back tonight, but I wanted to give you and my_ _brother some time together,"_ she said. I could hear some rustling of fabric in the background.

"What the heck are you doing?"

" _I'm getting ready for bed. Sorry; I'll be done in a sec."_ There was more rustling, _"So, you gonna tell me how things went today? My brother walked in with the biggest shit eating grin that I've ever seen."_

"I don't know. Maybe he bought a winning scratch ticket on his way home," I said, sarcastically.

I heard her growl at me, _"Don't give me that load of bull. What happened?"_

"First of all, you little sneak. You failed to mention he was even coming over," I said, scolding her.

I heard her giggled, _"So, you did enjoy his company, after all?"_

"As annoying as you are, why can I not stay mad at you?" I huffed, "You saw something happening, didn't you?"

" _Maybe."_

"Maybe?"

" _Yes, maybe. Now, tell me how his visit went. It had to go good enough for him to stay over there all day,"_ she simply stated, knowing that if things didn't go well, Edward would have been home hours before.

I sighed, "It went well enough. I decided to give him a chance. We're starting as friends, though. If things go further, then he'll be the first to know."

I could hear her clapping, _"Yay! It'll go further and sooner than ya know."_

"Alice," I growled at her.

" _Yeeesss?"_ she sing-songed.

"What am I gonna do with you?"

She giggled, _"Be my best-friend and future sister in-law."_

"Can we please not talk about marriage? I'm only sixteen, Alice," I stated, yanking my blanket back to crawl under it.

" _Soon to be seventeen; don't forget,"_ she reminded me.

"How could I? I'm sure you'll be reminding me," I complained. And she would. I'd probably get an invitation in the mail to my own party.

We finished our conversation with her promising to see me the next day.

I wouldn't know what to do without her in my life now. She's become a permanent fixture in such a short time.


	10. Chapter 10

**I got some chapters mixed up. Please disregard this.**

 **All mistakes are my won. SM owns all characters.**

 **2/4/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 10**

 **BPOV**

* * *

All I wanted to do was sleep in the next day. That was all thrown to shit when the doorbell and banging on the door echoed throughout the house at seven-thirty in the morning.

I ignored it until it all started, again along with my cell ringing from my bedside table. There was only one person I could think of that would drag my ass out of bed so early in the morning.

Alice came busting through the door as soon as she heard the locks disengage. "What took you so long?"

"Some people like to sleep late." I retorted as I watched her with blurry eyes make her way up the stairs and to my room.

"You know that big bright thing in the sky called the sun? Well, it's up and the longer it takes for you to get dressed, the more daylight is wasted away. There's no time to sleep in; we have stuff to do."

I gave her a death glare. "Would it be rude if I asked you to go away? Just for a few hours?"

"Yes; now get dressed. I'll be downstairs making you some breakfast."

I took my time washing up, brushing my teeth and getting dressed. She was killing me with this early morning crap.

So, for two days in a row, Alice had my undivided attention. Edward stopped by after he'd been to practice. I made dinner both nights and we hung out watching movies before he would leave. We could barely keep our eyes off of each other and we would sneak in some hand holding when Alice wasn't looking. I loved the way I was feeling. The giddiness and excitement of seeing him were the feelings I got each time I knew I'd see him. I didn't tell Alice, though.

Little did she know, Edward finally asked me on an official date and I gladly accepted.

When he asked me, he claimed he wanted to prove he wasn't like anyone else. I knew who and what he was talking about, but I never questioned him. I already knew he was different. He had no reason to impress me.

When he showed up at the house, he was attacked by Alice. She was over the moon that we were finally inching toward that step.

Alice made plans with a different friend that night so she wouldn't be sitting at the house all by herself. She would be going home afterward because she didn't want to feel like the third wheel if we went back to the house. I didn't argue with her, although I had to make it very clear to her that there wouldn't be any kind of hanky panky going on.

Edward took me to a nice restaurant and dinner turned out delicious. Afterward, we walked along the boardwalk. We held hands and talked, telling each other about a lot of stuff we did as kids and asked more and more questions to fill in the blanks. We were learning so much about one another. That wall I had built up was starting to fall. I opened up to him and told him about what happened in California and why that led me to living with my dad in Washington. He was surprised to say the least and promised not to piss me off...too much. I couldn't help laughing at him.

The whole time Edward and I were gone, I kept getting an eerie feeling that I was being watched. I was constantly looking over my shoulder and all around us, but I never saw anything or anyone that would cause that feeling. I was probably being paranoid for no reason at all.

That night when we pulled into my driveway we got out of his truck and stood next to the driver side talking. There wasn't a shortage of conversation for us. It was so easy to talk to him. We were growing closer and closer and I was getting more comfortable than ever around him. We even touched and flirted more.

I was leaning up against the door when he stepped closer to me. We locked eyes as he slowly placed his hands on my hips. "Do you know how bad I wanna kiss you, right now?"

"I think I do." I placed my hands on his forearms and pulled him closer. "Because I'm feeling the same way."

That's when he moved one hand to place on my cheek. "Do you know how beautiful you are to me?" I bit my lower lip and gave my head a slight shake. "You're in my head from the time I wake up in the morning until I climb into bed at night. Then I dream of you."

"What are your dreams about?" I couldn't take my eyes off of him as he looked down on me. Our eyes were locked and not moving.

"You, us as a couple; us in the future. Me showing you off to all my friends. We're happy and that's what I want, so that's what I dream of."

I slipped one hand around his waist and the other up around his neck so I could draw him closer to me. "I dream of you, too."

He gave me a sexy smile then placed his lips on mine. We gave each other a few open mouth kisses before I felt his tongue touch my lips. I opened to welcome his intrusion which led to my heart falling to my stomach in a very good way.

The intensity of our intimacy was building and when I say we were having one hot and heavy make out session, I meant it. We were clutched to each other as if we were about to float away.

That moment came that I never wanted to happen. Slowly, he pulled away and wrapped his arms around me; mostly my head because he was so much taller than me. It was that very moment that I knew I wanted him in my life. "As much as I wanna stay here and kiss you until the sun comes up, I can't. I have practice in the morning."

"I really did have a great time tonight." I gave his waist a tight squeeze. "I can't wait to do it, again."

"Oh, yeah?" I could practically hear the smile in his voice.

I stepped back far enough to look up into his handsome face. "Yes."

In a flash, with both of his hands on my face, his lips were back on mine for only a few passionate moments. "We'll definitely do that more." He says as he pulls away.

He walked me to the door and waited for me to step inside before he turned to leave. He made sure to kiss me more before he stepped away so he could leave. "I'll see you tomorrow." I tell him. "Come over after practice."

"You can't get rid of me that easy. You're stuck with me now."

"Goodnight Edward."

"Goodnight Bella."

The days started slipping by faster and faster. We were constantly doing something; keeping ourselves busy. Alice and I even went to watch Edward practice a couple of times. I was pretty impressed and promised to attend his games as much as I could.

Edward was coming over after his practice to spend some more time with us. I was pretty anxious to see him and it was getting like that every day. I felt like the school girl that I am, when it came to him. I silently jumped up and down when I knew he was coming over.

The day after mine and Edwards first date, Alice didn't push too much for info because she knew I'd share when I was ready. She just asked how it went and if we kissed. My smile gave away my answer. I wasn't ready to tell Alice everything because I didn't want to hear her say _I told you so._

I was planning to make dinner for all of us. I was wanting to make a roasted chicken, roasted veggies and chocolate volcano cake for desert.

Alice and I were taking a trip to the grocery store early, so I could get the cake done first.

While we were at the store, Alice pushed the cart while I had the list in my hand. I didn't want to be there any longer than I needed to be.

We were half way through our trip when Alice was stopped by someone. Apparently, a classmate from school.

Alice introduced me to the girl. I had seen her before when I went to the boardwalk with my dad. She was the one I saw Edward with. The one that kept looking at him like he was the last man on earth. I think her name was Jessica.

"This is Bella," Alice said, gesturing toward me. "She'll be new this year. A Junior, same as us." Alice smiled over at me. "She's making dinner for me and Edward tonight. She's such a great cook and Edward can never eat enough of it."

Jessica looked at Alice, quizzically. "Oh, really?"

Alice nodded her head enthusiastically, "Oh, yeah, believe me. I've probably put on ten pounds since I've been staying with her. Edward, too, but you know how that goes. He probably works it off when he's practicing."

"Yes, I do know," Jessica replied snidely. "I have known your brother for a while. I probably know him better than he knows himself."

"I highly doubt that," Alice said before raising her brows. "Anyway, nice to see you. We have dinner to cook. See you around."

Alice grabbed my hand while pushing the cart away. "God, she's so annoying."

"Didn't you tell me she had a huge crush on Edward?" I asked, not really caring, but my curiosity got the better of me. Yeah, I was a little jealous that all these girls were fawning over him, but I knew he liked me and I liked him in return.

"Did I just hear a little jealousy in your tone?" She asked teasingly, narrowing her eyes at me.

"N...no," I stuttered, but I knew Alice didn't believe me. She shook her head as we continued to walk through the produce section. She never said anything else about it, although, I knew it was eating at her to say more.

We finished the shopping, grabbing some extra snacks for us later.

For some reason, I kept wondering how many other friends Alice actually had. There had to be more; I couldn't be the only one she wanted to spend all her time with. I knew she stayed with a friend the night of mine and Edwards first date, but she never said anything about how her visit went.

I glanced over at her while we were loading the conveyer belt. "Alice, can I ask you a personal question?"

She nodded. "Sure."

"Don't you have any other friends? I mean, friends that you like?"

She gave me a dumbfounded look. "You sick of me already?"

"No, that's not why I'm asking. We've sorta been inseparable since that first day we met. And you've only been to another friend's house once since then. I kind of feel like I'm keeping you from your other friends," I explained, watching for her reaction.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I have a few, but I don't know...I like hanging out with you more."

"You can't blow them off all the time because of me," I said, pleading with her to spend more time with her other friends, too.

She smiled at me. "It's okay. We've all been friends since Kindergarten. We never really do anything, anyway. I think they like hanging out with me because of my brothers," she explained, shrugging her shoulders, yet again. "I think of you as my BFF anyway. I know you're not using me to try and get in my brothers pants or because we have money."

She was just a tad forthcoming, but entirely right. Alice was my best-friend before I even decided to give Edward a chance. Edward wasn't even an issue before this past week.

We made it back to my house, unscathed because I drove. I was serious when I told her I would never ride with her, again, unless it was absolutely necessary. She just stuck her tongue out at me, feigning defeat. That seemed to be her only defense.

I got the cake baked and ready. I would need to heat it up later for the full effect of the lava part. It was best warmed up so the chocolate oozed out and even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I prepared the chicken to roast around two o'clock. It would take a few hours to get it to perfection. Thank goodness for counter-top roasters. It was easier to keep an eye on it that way. And less messy.

Edward showed up around four o'clock. He had made a habit of kissing me on the temple when he greeted me. I expected it each time. I wanted his lips instead, but I didn't want to do that in front of Alice. So, the first opportunity we got, I jumped on him and devoured his face. He was all too happy to take the attention. "It's about time," he told me. "Does she never leave your side?"

I laughed, shook my head and put my feet back on the floor. "You, of all people, should know she means well."

"I know she does and I can't help but love her for it."

I nodded in agreement. "She definitely has a kindred spirit." I stood and looked at him for a minute. "I don't ever remember having a friend like her. Even my two friends in Forks are nothing like her."

Dinner was ready by six o'clock. We ate and joked around a lot. They told me stories of how it was growing up together. Some stuff I already knew from the times Edward and I talked, but I loved hearing them, again. It was funny, though. I expected it to be Edward that always picked on Alice because he was older, but it was the other way around. Alice was always playing jokes on him and setting booby-traps. Times like those, I wished I had a brother or sister to share stuff with.

Throughout dinner, I kept looking toward Edward. I couldn't believe that a guy as good looking as he is, would have one shred of likeness toward me or even think I looked beautiful. It made the butterflies in the pit of my stomach flip out from his attention. Then it dawned on me that I hadn't thought of Anthony one time since Edward and I started seeing each other. That made me happier.

Edward left around eleven o'clock that night. Like all the other times, I walked him out to his truck. As soon as the front door closed it was as if we were magnets and gravitated toward each other without question. It felt good to touch him after barely any contact the whole evening.

We kissed for a few minutes before we made our way to his truck.

"Thank you for dinner. It was delicious; as usual," he said, turning toward me as we reached the driver side of his truck.

I smiled up at him. "You're welcome. I love cooking and glad that I've had someone to cook for while my mom and Phil are away."

"You seem pretty excited about them getting home this weekend," he queried, reaching out and taking my hands.

"Yeah, I am. I'm glad they got this time to themselves, though. They deserved it," I replied, plastering a huge smile on my face.

He reached up and tucked some stray hair behind my ear. "You nervous about school starting on Monday?"

I shook my head. "Not really. I'll have you and Alice there, unless you're too popular to pay attention to the new girl," I said, teasingly. "So, I'll be fine unless you decide to ignore me because you're a Senior, after all," I said jokingly.

"Not on your life. I'm excited about this year because you'll be there," he said, reassuringly, caressing my cheek with the back of his fingers.

I could feel my cheeks heat up from the intimacy of his touch.

I placed my hand over his. "I think maybe I might like the idea of walking hand in hand with you, at school."

"Oh, yeah?" I nodded, answering his question. "You sure you'll be okay with that?" He asked, sounding a little surprised at my statement.

"Yes. I just want all this awkwardness that I'm feeling, to pass. I need it to go away. The more I'm around you, the more it disappears and I just need to stop dwelling on the past. Girls get heartbroken all the time and are over it quicker than me, but I'm not heartbroken, anymore," I said, pulling his hand from my face and lacing our fingers together.

"You'll get there. I'm hoping that as time goes by that I'll have a lot to do with it. I want an Us, and I don't want anything or anyone else to be the reason you're afraid to take that next step with me," he said, pulling me closer to him.

I looked up and smiled. "Thank you. You definitely have a lot to do with mending my broken heart."

Edward released my hands and placed his on my hips. I closed my eyes, savoring the feeling.

When I opened them, he was staring down at me. My heart started pounding, furiously.

As he brushed the back of his hand across my cheek, I nuzzled my face into his hand. The warmth of it raced down my neck, spreading across my entire chest. "I can't begin to actually tell you how you make me feel. Is two weeks too soon for someone to fall in love?"

"Is there such a thing as Love at first sight?" I placed my hand on his chest with anticipation.

"I've read enough books to hope that there is such a thing. I know you make my heart beat out of my chest and I'm excited to see you and you..."

My words were cut off by warm lips meeting mine. "Stop," he said against my mouth. "I think I get the picture."

I pulled back to look at him. "Are we really saying this to each other, now?"

"No," he replied. "We'll know when the times right."

"I don't think about him much anymore." I placed my hands on his chest. "That's a good thing. Actually the best feeling ever."

He smiled. "Do you wanna know what the best feeling ever to me is?"

"Of course," I smiled with curiosity.

"Kissing you. That's all I think about since the first time we kissed and that's all I wanna do."

"What's stopping you?" The words flew from my mouth on their own accord. My mind raced, trying to figure out where that courage came from. It had probably been there the whole time.

He pulled me closer, cupping my cheek with one hand, while the other was gripping my hip. He lowered his head and pressed his lips to mine. I was a goner in that moment. I felt like I was on the verge of an out of body experience. Kissing him was the best thing I've ever experienced.

I wrapped my arms around him and tilted my head to the side to deepen the kiss. Without hesitance, I opened my lips to welcome in his tongue. The warmth of it and his taste, only tripled the butterflies in my stomach to an uncountable amount.

We kissed slowly; our breathing picking up, quickly.

Edward slipped the hand that was on my cheek, around to the base of my neck, pulling me closer to him.

I had never been kissed so passionately before, and as wrong as it sounded at this moment, I compared him to Anthony. That was the first time I thought of him since Edward and I had been spending so much time together.

They were definitely not the same person...that was for damn sure.

Slowly, I pulled away, ending our kiss. I pressed my forehead to his chest. He wrapped his arms around me, hugging me.

"I can't wait for many more of those," he whispered before placing a kiss to the top of my head.

"You're pretty incredible," I simply stated, a smile spreading from ear to ear, across my face.

I heard him hum. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, my knees were about to give out."

Edward chuckled. My forehead feeling the vibrations from his chest. "Mine, too," he sighed. "And as much as I'd rather stay here and kiss you all night, I gotta go. Evan's meeting me at the field to help me out with some pitches."

"That's fine. Will you text me?"

"Of course." He leaned back, moving his head down, pressing his lips to mine, letting the kiss linger. We didn't deepen it, knowing that if we did, he'd never leave. He pulled back. "Count on it."

Edward climbed into his truck, starting it. He blew me a kiss before backing away. I smiled, swooning over him.

After that heart-stopping kiss we shared, I knew I was very close to falling in love with him. Anthony was becoming nothing but a figment of my imagination. Just like he never existed and just the way I wanted him to be.

I walked in the front door and the wind was knocked out of me by Alice pouncing on me. "I saw you! I saw you! Gosh, I'm so excited."

"Alice, what exactly did you see?" I asked, knowing her nosy little self was spying on Edward and me.

She giggled, grabbing my hand and pulling me into the kitchen. We sat down at the table before she spoke. She smiled and patted me on the knee like she was about to lecture me. "I saw you two swapping spit."

I smiled, blushing from embarrassment. I wasn't going to deny one of the best kissers I ever had. "So tell me...how was it."

I turned away from her to compose myself before speaking. "Oh, I don't know except..." I said, shrugging my shoulders. "...he's-the-best-damn-kisser-I-ever-had," I said, too quickly and too excitedly. "As excited as I am right now, I don't care that this should be too weird for me to talk to you about this because he's your brother."

"It is weird, but I don't care," she said. "I have to live vicariously through someone. Brother or not, that kiss looked pretty intense."

I whispered. "He makes my toes curl. That wasn't our first kiss, though, but every time is like the first time with him. I could kiss him all day."

Alice squealed, pulling me into a bone crushing hug. "I know you don't wanna know, but I saw it happening and I wanted to see if tonight was the night. That's why I spied on you, two."

"Yeah, I don't wanna know anything unless it's important. Thanks for not telling me before hand," I said, getting up from my seat and walking over to the sink. I needed to get the kitchen cleaned up before we went to bed. I didn't want mom and Phil coming home to a messy house.

"You're welcome," she said, getting up from her seat. "Here, let me help. We'll get it done quicker."

When I checked my phone before bed, I had a text from Edward letting me that he made it home, safely.

I replied back telling him that I couldn't wait to see him, again. I was done with the awkwardness and trying not to get close to him because I wanted him and I wanted him, badly. The man was causing my libido to go into overdrive.

By the time Alice and I were done cleaning up, we climbed into bed about one in the morning. Mom and Phil were due home around noon the next day and I couldn't wait to see them.


	11. Chapter 11

**I think I finally got all the chapters figured out. UGH! I was ready to chuck my laptop out into the street. I had chapter 6 posted twice. GO ME!**

 **Anywho, I wanted to wait until tomorrow night to post this one, but I'm watching 'Hours' starring Paul Walker.**

 **All mistakes are my own. SM owns all characters.**

 **2/4/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 11**

 **BPOV**

* * *

I woke up feeling pretty excited. My mom and Phil were coming home and I couldn't wait to hear about their trip.

Alice left about ten o'clock. This time, I knew she didn't play any tricks.

All night, I kept having dreams of Edward. Well, I thought they were of Edward until I woke up just before Anthony sank his teeth into my neck.

He kept telling me I was his and he was coming for me. I didn't know what the hell the dream meant, but I sure as hell hoped it never came true. If I never see Anthony again, it'd be too soon.

Around twelve-thirty, mom and Phil came barreling through the door. I heard mom before I saw her. "Isabella! We're home!"

I scrambled up as fast as I could and rushed to greet them. I jumped, wrapping my arms around moms neck. "I'm so happy you're home. I missed you guys."

"We missed you, too, honey. Phil will be in, in a sec. He's grabbing the luggage," mom explained before I could ask where he was.

Phil came stumbling in, dragging two large suitcases, behind him. Mom grabbed one before they headed upstairs to unpack.

I decided to make a quick lunch with the leftovers from dinner the night before. It didn't take long to warm everything up.

Phil came sauntering into the kitchen before mom. "Hey, you," he said, walking over and grabbing me up into a hug.

"Hey, I made some lunch; hope you're hungry." I turned toward the breakfast bar, waving my hand across the food I spread out to eat. "Dig in. It's leftovers from dinner last night."

"I'm starving. We didn't have time for breakfast this morning and the food on the plane wasn't fit for a dog." Phil sat down and grabbed one of the plates that I had set out. He started piling on the food. I had completely removed the rest of the chicken from the bone, making it easier and faster to serve.

I grabbed a plate also, but I wasn't quite as hungry as Phil.

Mom joined us about ten minutes later. "Wow. You made all this?"

"It's leftovers from dinner last night," I said, handing her a plate.

"Did you cook like this the whole time we were gone?" Mom asked as she grabbed a few chunks of the chicken.

I shook my head. "We went out a few times and ordered in. Edward was here a lot too, so we weren't always by ourselves," I explained, not making eye contact because I knew the questions were coming and I didn't want to give anything away from the embarrassed flush that crossed my cheeks.

"Edward?" Phil asked and I nodded. "Should we ask?"

"If you want. I don't have anything to hide," I said, smiling down toward my plate.

Mom sat down next to me. "I'm assuming you're okay with being around him?"

I nodded. "Yes, more than okay," I said quietly. "We're sorta seeing each other."

Phil choked on his food and mom spewed her drink across the counter. I chuckled at them. "What? You two are acting like you didn't expect it."

"Actually, we didn't. After the way you treated him at the reception, we thought he had a death wish," Phil said, raising his eyebrows at me.

I went on to explain everything that happened over the last three weeks. I told them how I made the decision to give Edward a chance. Of course I couldn't leave out the part where Alice kept butting in, pushing for Edward and me to spend time together, and I wasn't gonna volunteer the information about Edward and I swapping spit as Alice described it.

They told me I was old enough to make my own decisions as far as relationships, but to please be careful.

For the rest of the day, we lounged around. Phil walked around outside to make sure the landscapers did their job correctly. I didn't pay attention whether or not they did. My mind was on other things. Like a tall, tanned, sexy man.

That night, when I climbed into bed, I sent Alice a quick text, saying good night. She sent a text back telling me _'sweet dreams'._

Edward was next. I couldn't stop thinking about him.

 _You tucked into bed yet? -B_

 _In bed but not asleep. -E_

 _I wanted to say goodnight. -B_

 _You happy that your mom and Phil are home? -E_

 _Yes. Very. I told them we were seeing each other. My mom spit her drink all over and Phil choked on his food. -B_

 _Really? LMFAO! That's priceless. Wish I could have seen that. -E_

 _It was pretty funny. They told me to be careful. -B_

 _I will definitely be very careful with you. I don't want my ass kicked. -E_

 _Ha Ha. Do you have plans tomorrow? -B_

 _Nope -E_

 _Wanna come over? -B_

 _I thought you'd never ask. What time? -E_

 _How about lunch time. I'll cook. -B_

 _You had me at LUNCH! – E_

 _I see how you are. You only like me for my cooking. - B_

 _Not on your life. That's only the bonus. Excellent food. -E_

 _~Blushes~ B_

 _Glad to see I have that effect of you. -E_

 _You affect me in more ways than one. -B_

After pressing send, I couldn't believe I just admitted that to him. If he saw me now, my face would be as red as.

 _Nice to know. –E_

 _Okay. I'm gonna go to sleep now. I'll see you tomorrow. Don't be late. -B_

 _Not a chance. Goodnight Bella. See you tomorrow. -E_

 _Nite Edward. -B_

I put my cell phone down on the nightstand, then snuggled down into bed. I had a huge smile on my face. Then out of nowhere, Anthony's face popped into my head. My heart sank, thinking about how I would ever get over them looking identical to each other. I'd have to find a way to convince myself that Anthony never existed. Edward needed to be the only face I saw in my mind.

I woke up bright and early the next morning. I was lucky to have a dreamless sleep.

I was a little anxious for Edward to come over. Alice had sent me a text, telling me she was taking my advice and visiting another friend. That made me happy. I didn't want her to feel like she had to devote all her free time to me.

I walked into the kitchen and mom was mixing a fruit smoothie in the blender. It looked delicious. "Good morning, sweetie. Want some?"

"Morning." I nodded. "Yes, I want some. That looks good."

"It is. We drank a lot of them while we were in Barbados," she said before getting a glass and pouring me some.

I glanced up at her after taking my first sip. "Gosh, that's good."

"Mmhmm...Phil loves 'em too," she said before she took a huge gulp of her smoothie.

"Where's Phil, anyway?" I hadn't seen him since I came downstairs.

She sat her glass down and turned toward the fridge. "Oh, he's out meeting up with Carlisle." She waved her hand, rolling her eyes. "Something about golf." She chuckled. "Boys and their balls."

I nearly choked on my smoothie when she said that. "Mom!"

"What? It's true," she giggled. She pulled some fresh fruit from the fridge and started cutting it up, making a fruit salad. "If it isn't baseball, it's golf."

I giggled at her. "Hey, you don't mind if Edward comes over to hang out, do you? I told him I'd make lunch." I knew she wouldn't mind, but I wanted to make sure she didn't have any other plans for us.

She smiled. "I don't mind. What's for lunch?"

"I haven't decided yet. I thought fajitas, maybe. I'm not sure if Edward even likes them. So far he eats anything I make," I said, getting up from my seat and walking to the fridge. I needed to make sure I had all the ingredients to make our lunch.

After looking to see what I needed, I had to take a trip to the grocery store. I didn't have any onions or small tortillas, and I wanted to make sure I got a desert for us, as well.

"I need to run to the store. "Was there anything you wanted me to get while I was there?" I asked, grabbing a pen and piece of paper to make a quick list.

"No, but what's on the menu for dinner? I'm sure Edward will still be around then," she said, smiling at me teasingly. I smiled back, knowing she's probably right. "How're you coping with that anyway? You seem like you're pretty okay."

I nodded. "It's getting better. I think the more I'm around him, the easier it is for me. I'm trying my hardest to ignore my past." I knew she understood who I was talking about. That's why I wasn't using any names, and I was starting to feel like I was repeating myself.

I sighed. Before I knew what I was doing, my mouth started a verbal vomit. "He sure does know how to kiss, that's for sure," I whispered.

Moms eyebrows rose up. "Oh, really?" She asked, sounding enthused about my admittance.

"Yeah," I said, closing my eyes, remembering the way his lips felt on mine. How warm they feel and when he pushed his tongue inside my mouth...

Mom giggled, breaking me out of my thoughts. "Look at you," she exclaimed. "You're all dreamy. Love does that to you."

I shook my head. "I wouldn't call it love, mom. We just started seeing each other. We're taking things slow." I shook my head, disagreeing with her even though the topic of Love at First Sight was brought up, already. "I definitely feel something for him, though." I slumped back in the chair to write out my list. "Do you think maybe I'm rushing into things with him? I mean, do you think it might be too soon for another relationship for me?"

Mom walked over and sat down next to me. She grabbed both of my hands. "Oh, honey. You're young. Love comes and goes throughout your life. A lot of girls your age, are from one boy to the next in a matter of days. You'll know if you're making the right decision. You'll know it here," she said, pointing toward my heart. "...but if you keep questioning yourself about your relationship with Edward, then maybe you shouldn't even give it a shot. You're supposed to fall in love more than once and every time you'll absorb new feelings, but when it comes to your one true love, you may never know at first. He could be someone that you see every day and never talk to. Anthony was just an obstacle on your way to your one true love."

She was right and I couldn't deny that. If I continued to question myself about my relationship with Edward, then I needed to back off before it really gets started. I needed to pull my head out of my ass and look at the bigger picture. If Alice was right by telling me that she saw Edward and I together, then I needed to let the chips lie where they fall.

It was time for me to put my head up and go with the flow. If Edward wanted to hold my hand at school, I'll let him. If he wanted to kiss me in front of the whole world to see, I'll let him. I have to stop shying away. I needed to stop acting like it was all about me. It's been more than six months since _he_ walked out of my life. It's time for me to start living like he doesn't affect me anymore. My feelings towards Edward are a sure sign that good or even perfect things are worth the wait.

"You're right. I do need to stop questioning everything so much." I got up from my chair, leaned over and hugged my mom. "Thank you for helping me see things the way I should."

"That's what I'm here for, sweetie. You can come to me about anything. Phil and I are both here for you," she informed me. "Now get to the store and get some food for that guy of yours."

I grabbed my grocery list, car keys and headed for the door.

I felt so much lighter after talking to my mom. I had a little pep to my step as I walked out to my car. The smile on my face felt permanent.

I made it to the store and started throwing stuff in my cart. List be damned.

I was headed down the freezer aisle when I heard someone call my name. I turned to find Esme walking towards me. "Esme, hi," I said, excitedly.

"Bella, it's so good to see you," she said, pulling me into a tight hug.

"It's good to see you, too. You here by yourself?"

She giggled. "You think I can get any of them to come with me? My son and daughter are sleeping the day away and Carlisle's off playing golf with Phil."

"That's right, mom told me Phil was with Carlisle. Did they drag Evan along, too?" I asked, smiling at her.

"Yeah, they're getting caught up on guy stuff. I guess they decided to torture poor Evan. Carlisle couldn't get Edward up to go." She smiled up at me. "So, are you here by yourself?"

"Yup. Just grabbing some stuff for lunch and dinner. Edward's coming over for lunch. He only likes me for my cooking," I said, jokingly.

Esme gave me a megawatt smile. "He's a growing boy, after all." She draped her arm across my shoulders. "Alice tells me that you and him are seeing each other, now." She queried, with a huge toothy grin. "I did notice him walking around with a smile on his face."

"Yeah, mom said something similar about me."

"Well, regardless of any vision that Alice has had, I think you two will be good together," she conveyed, placing her hand on my forearm after she removed it from my shoulder, she smiled slightly at me. "You're making him happy."

I smiled at her. "Thank you. It took him a couple of weeks to convince me to give him a chance, and today, my mom helped me see that I was questioning stuff too much. You know all the gory details and what I went through, but mom made me see that I can't compare the two situations. She made me realize that if I keep questioning what Edward and I have, then it would be pointless to even try. She was right, of course."

"Yes, we mothers tend to know these things." Esme smiled and rubbed my arm.

I reached out and hugged her, again. "Well, I need to get my stuff so I can feed your son. It was really great seeing you."

"Okay, sweetie. You be careful and we'll see you soon." She said as we hugged one more time. Shepulled back from the hug. "Tell your mom hello for me."

"I will; see ya later," I said, turning and walking back over to look at the frozen fruit. I couldn't be any more grateful for how much better my life has become since I decided to stay in Florida. Esme's so nice and lovable.

I finished up my shopping and hurried back home. I had an hour before Edward was due to show up.

I quickly got the onions and peppers all cut up. I then moved on to get the chicken cut into strips. It was an easy meal and quick to put together.

The doorbell rang about thirty minutes into my preparations. Mom and Edward appeared through the kitchen archway, moments later.

"Your company's here," mom sing-songed.

"Will you be joining us for lunch, mom?"

"Nope. I'm heading out to have lunch with a colleague," she said, smiling mischievously.

"Okay, have fun. We're just hangin' out here. We'll probably go swimming and watch a movie after lunch," I said, returning her smile.

Mom walked over and gave me a hug. She whispered in my ear. "You two behave."

"Mom!" I whisper-yelled.

She moved as quick as she could, away from me. "Bye, you two."

Edward walked over and sat at the breakfast bar. He was smiling like he knew something that I didn't, but I played stupid and didn't say anything.

"I ran into your mom at the store this morning," I told him, turning to retrieve a skillet to start cooking.

He nodded his head. "Yeah, she told me. She really does like you, you know."

"That's nice. I really like your mom, too. She strikes me as a really down to earth person," I replied back, pouring a little canola oil into the hot pan.

"Yeah, she is. She's really great," he said, smiling. He stood up from his seat. "Can I grab a drink?"

I waved my hand toward the fridge. "Sure; help yourself."

Edward walked to the fridge and before I knew what was happening, he had his arms wrapped around me, pulling me back as he placed an open-mouth kiss on my neck. "I thought she'd never leave."

I could barely breathe. My heart rate was skyrocketing, practically cracking my sternum. If my heart was reacting this viciously over a kiss to my neck, I'd be afraid I'd have a heart attack if he kissed me anywhere else.

"I uh...I uh..." I stammered. I couldn't even get a coherent sentence from my mouth.

He started kissing my neck and along my jaw. Goosebumps swept over the entire right side of my body until he traveled back to my ear. That made my nipples harden into stiff peaks.

I turned to face him and placed my hands on his chest. He reached behind me and turned off the heat to the burner. "Lunch can wait for a few more minutes." He then wrapped his arms around me, pulling me more firmly against him. I could feel that he was excited to be this close to me. I couldn't fault him for that, though. I was getting worked up myself, but that wouldn't be happening for a little while longer.

I could feel myself begin to shake from nervousness. I was loving the closeness, but I was still a little skittish where intimacy was concerned. I was sure Edward could feel it, too, especially when he pulled back to look down at me. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I just...I don't know. You caught me off guard; I'm sorry." I tried to explain, but honestly, I didn't have a solid explanation. Stupid, I know. I had never had affection like that before. Anthony was always so serious and right to the point. All talk and very little joking, was our forte. We never played around for fun, although, that was more on Emmett's side. He was more of the jokester. I was surprised, on the very rare occasions, that he could actually live a little and make me laugh.

"No, no." He shook his head and stepped back a little. "I'm the one who should be sorry. You're not ready for something like that, right now. It's okay. We're supposed to be taking things slow and I got carried away. We can pretend I didn't do that and I'll..." He pointed toward the chair. "...go sit down and watch you cook."

He moved back from me to go sit down and on instinct, I reached out and grabbed his hand. "No." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Neither one of us said anything for a long minute, so I pulled him toward me and wrapped my arms around him. I placed my head on his chest, hearing his heart pounding furiously. "I'm not used to attention like that," I said, squeezing him slightly. "I really liked it. You may have to do it more often so I could get used to it."

"I'll definitely keep that in mind." We were quiet for a few minutes, just hugging each other. He pulled back and smiled. "How 'bout that lunch? What'cha makin'?"

"Fajitas. Hope you like 'em," I said, stepping over to the stove to turn it back on. "Have a seat. Watch and learn."

Edward grabbed a drink from the fridge and sat down. He seemed very interested in watching me cook. I kept stealing glances at him and each time, it was like my heart skipped a beat. I wasn't sure if it were a medical problem or not, but the boy sure had my heart doing some crazy shit.

When I finished the fajita mixture, I popped the tortillas in the microwave to warm them up. Edward looked anxious to start eating.

I placed the platter of food in front of our plates and grabbed the tortillas. "You want some sour cream and guacamole?"

"Sure, whatever you got; It all looks great." He started loading up a couple of tortillas with the mixture. "Have you ever thought of going to culinary school?"

I shrugged my shoulders as I sat down next to him. "No, I haven't really thought much about college, but I've got time, right?"

"I suppose," He paused for a few seconds. "So, you don't have a career choice in mind? A lifelong dream job?"

"Nah, not really. I do enjoy to cook, and photography. That's the only thing I've actually thought about going to school for, but my interest in it has somewhat disappeared. I'll have to think about culinary school, though. You might be on to something, there," I said, reaching across his plate to grab the salsa I had sat closer to him. My hand brushed his arm in the process and I smiled because I didn't cringe away.

I guess it all really was just a mental thing.

During our lunch, we talked more about college. I knew Edward wanted to be a professional baseball player, but I also learned that he wanted to major in business just in case his baseball career didn't pan out the way he was planning it to

"What kind of business are you interested in?" I asked as we stood by the sink, cleaning up our dishes from lunch. I was rinsing while he loaded them into the dishwasher.

"I really haven't thought about it, but I wouldn't mind being in something that involves baseball. A manager maybe. I'll have to think more about it. There's always my dad's company that I could use a business degree for," he replied as he loaded the last dish. He motioned for me to move away from the sink so he could get the dishwasher soap from underneath it. He explained that his dad owns his own freight company and he may be the one taking it over once his dad retires. He said Evan shows no interest, whatsoever, in the trucking business.

I moved out of the way and smiled down at him. "I think you'd make a great businessman."

He chuckled at me. "Businessman? That just sounds so cliché."

"Yeah, well, you haven't exactly thought about what line of business, so businessman it is until then," I said as I turned to drape the dish towel over the handle of the stove.

Edward caught me off guard by wrapping his arms around me from behind. "I think I can handle doing this more often."

I placed my hands on top of his. "Yeah, I kinda like it." I turned in his arms and looked up at him. "Actually, I really like it."

"Good because I'll be doing it a lot." He leaned down and placed a light kiss on my lips, but I felt a sudden urge to deepen it.

I snaked my arms up around his neck, sliding my fingers through his hair at the back of his head, pulling him closer.

He took my subtle hint and we deepened our kiss.

I felt him open his mouth, easing his tongue inside mine . It was soft and slow to start, but turned into frantic and wanting as he eased me back until my ass hit the counter.

I moaned when he pushed his hardness into my stomach. The butterflies that occupied it, multiplied by the thousands.

Without breaking our kiss, he lifted me up and placed me on the counter. I opened my legs further as he eased himself between them.

In the background, 'Thinking Out Loud' from Ed Sheeran started playing on the radio I had turned on earlier while I was cutting up all the stuff to make our lunch. "I love this song," I whispered to him. He was still taller than me as I sat on the counter. Not by much, though.

He smoothed his hands over the top of my thighs until he reached my hips, pulling me until I could feel where my body was wanting him most.

I was definitely not ready to go that far...just yet.

He pushed his pelvis into me and my whole body caught fire. A moan, from deep within me, released itself from my throat.

Edward pushed into me, again; my resolve completely shattering.

I pulled away from our kiss. "Oh, God." He started traveling kisses along my jaw and down my neck. I could feel him licking and lightly sucking at my skin.

I moved my head to the side to give him better access. "We need to stop."

"I know, but I don't want to," he whispered into my throat.

"We have to. What if my mom or Phil comes home?"

"Let them," he retorted.

I pushed him away from me. "Edward," I scolded.

He chuckled at me. "I know; I'm sorry. We'll stop." I eye-balled him. "I'll stop." He held his hands up in surrender. "Look, I know we're not ready for that yet and I'm sorry. I got a little carried away," he expressed, reaching up and placing both of his hands on each side of my neck. "Don't get me wrong..." He nodded his head. "I definitely want to, but I promise we'll take it slow. I just..." He trailed off and stepped away from me, leaning up against the island and clasping his hands together in front of the bulge in his shorts.

"Just what?" I asked, not really knowing which way our conversation was going. We were embraced with each other one minute and the next, we're diving head first into a serious talk.

He shook his head. "I want you to know that I've only ever been with one person."

I hopped down off the counter and stood in front of him. I reached out to take his hands and accidentally grazed his erection with my fingers. He hissed, squeezing his eyes shut and growling at me. "I'm sorry."

"I'm fine," he whispered, his eyes still shut.

I quietly giggled. I laced our fingers together and stepped closer to him, staying a few inches away so I didn't touch his hard situation.

He opened his eyes and looked down at me. I tilted my head to the side, giving him a small smile. "So...just one?"

He nodded his head at me, feigning embarrassment. "Yes."

"Same with me," I admitted.

His eyes grew wide. "Did you? With him?"

I, reluctantly nodded. "Yes."

He let out a deep sigh. "I'm really trying not to picture you with him...a vampire of all things."

I looked at him quizzically. "Do you have a problem with that?"

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath when I stepped away from him. When his hands dropped from mine, they immediately went into fists. "I just...I'm sorry. I got an image in my head that I'd prefer to never think of again. You being with someone else is just something I don't wanna think about...ever."

"Don't you think that's being a bit hypocritical?"

He closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "I guess I am."

I stepped back in front of him, closer this time, not caring if his dick was hard or not. "Look, when that time comes for us, then it'll be the first for us, okay? Can we look at it that way? We can't change our pasts and as far as I'm concerned, you will be my first. If I could take it all back, I would in a heartbeat, but I can't and you can't change anything either."

"The only thing I got out of that was me being your first. Does that mean that we're together? I'm your baby and you're mine?"

I smiled up at him. "As much as I didn't want a new relationship, you've made me think more than twice about it. I can't help but think about you all the time and I'm always excited to see you."

I wasn't expecting what he did next. He grabbed my hand and put it over the large bulge in his shorts. "I'm pretty excited to see you, too."

"Edward," I chastised as I smacked his arm. "Pervert."

"You haven't seen the half of it," he joked and pulled me back into him where is happiness was pressed into my stomach, again.

"I have a lot to look forward to, then." I moved my stomach from side to side, rubbing up against him.

He growled at me. "Can we talk about this some other time? I really need to get my mind off sex."

I giggled. "Yeah." I rose up on my tip toes and kissed him. "Let's go take a walk on the beach."

My mom came walking in when we came around the corner from the kitchen. "Hey kids."

"Hey, mom. We were about to head down to the beach. How was lunch?"

"It was good. How was yours?" She eyed me suspiciously.

I smiled. "It was great, actually. The left overs are in the fridge and we cleaned up our mess." I walked over and kissed her cheek. "We're headed out. I have my cell if you need me."

"Okay, see you two in a bit," she said as she headed into the kitchen.

I grabbed Edwards hand. "C'mon."

When we made it down to the beach, I stopped and slipped my flip-flops off.

Our walk along the warmed sand was completely clichéd. We carried our shoes and held hands as we strolled along. We would catch side glances of each other as we walked, enjoying each other's presence.

We made it about a mile down the beach and decided to stop at one of the vendors for a drink.

"We'll have two bottled waters, please," Edward requested from the very, overly tanned, woman behind the cart. He pulled his wallet out and handed the lady a ten dollar bill. "Keep the change."

We walked away after we took our waters and I couldn't get the smile off my face. "What's got you so smiley?"

"You."

"What about me?"

I stopped and turned, standing right in front of him. "You amaze me."

He placed his free hand on my hip. "How so?"

"In the short time I've known you, I've noticed how unselfish you are." I smiled. "Like what you just did; you gave that woman a seven dollar tip on a three dollar order."

He chuckled. "Yeah, well, some people are actually trying to make an honest living. She could have charged us three dollars per bottle, but she didn't and I could tell she's just trying to be fair. She probably just made a fifty cent profit on both bottles."

"See, there's the businessman in you, coming out," I said, teasingly.

"C'mon, let's head back." He leaned down and gave me a small peck on my lips. "I'm ready to jump in the pool."

* * *

 **Hope you liked it. Let me know what you think.**

 **RTB**


	12. Chapter 12

**All mistakes are my own. SM owns all characters.**

 **I'm hoping there will be two updates tonight. Let's see what these kids are up to.**

 **No copy right infringement is intended.**

 **2/6/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 12**

 **BPOV**

* * *

Our walk on the beach left me daydreaming of my future. I saw Edward in my life, or it was wishful thinking. Either way I was really wanting him for the long run. I got to see more of his unselfishness, too. When a ball from a little kid went flying past us, he went out of his way to get it back to him. That made my heart melt even more.

We made it back to my house, me heading up to my room to change and Edward headed out to his truck to grab his swim trunks.

He was waiting for me by the sliding glass doors when I came downstairs. He was definitely a sight for sore eyes.

He raised his eyebrows at me. "Please tell me you don't wear that down on the beach," he said, motioning to my body. I looked down pretending that I didn't know what he meant, shrugging my shoulders.

I was wearing a revealing cherry red bikini. I knew it would peak his curiosity. "Why?"

He rolled his eyes at me and huffed. "And you ask me why? Bella, your tits are practically hanging out."

I giggled at him. "It's just you and me. And no, I haven't worn this to the beach...yet."

"Please don't because I know what I'm thinking and I could just imagine what other guys would think if they saw you in that. Just please humor me and say you won't wear that to the beach. At least when I'm not around." He stepped closer and pulled me to him by my waist. "Please?"

"Fine. For your eyes only, then," I conceded, wrapping my arms around his naked torso. I loved the way his skin felt against mine.

He kissed my temple. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, let's go swim." I moved away from our embrace and grabbed his hand, leading him out to the pool. We sat our towels down on the lounge chairs.

I reached over to the small table between the chairs and pulled out the tanning oil with sunscreen, from the drawer. "Can you put this on my back, please?"

"Sure." He grabbed the oil and straddled the lounge chair closest to him. "Sit." He patted the area between his legs and I graciously sat down, trying not to sit too close.

He squirted the oil on my back and slowly began to rub it between my shoulder blades, working his way over each shoulder.

It felt so good to have his hands on me. Just the feel of his touch was causing me to relax, making my imagination run wild.

I closed my eyes to try and concentrate on something other than him touching me, and it wasn't working.

When he started working his way down my arms, I felt him move closer. He kissed the back of my neck before he slipped his hands around my waist and rubbed the non-existent oil on my stomach.

He started kissing around my neck more, settling just below my ear. Goosebumps riddled the entire upper half of my body and causing a familiar tingling, but long forgotten, sensation between my legs.

The moment I felt his tongue caress the shell of my ear, my nipples hardened into stiff peaks.

I wasn't sure if he could see from where he was behind me, but I didn't want him to notice, so I crossed my arms over my chest before he could.

His legs clamped around my hips when he pulled me closer and in that moment, I was goo.

More kisses and licks were trailed to the other side of my neck. I tilted my head to give him better access, moving my hands down to cover his because I was so close to coming unglued.

I pulled my legs up and leaned further back into him. I wasn't ready for the moment to end and for a split second, I wanted to turn around and straddle him, but the little Angel that was sitting on my shoulder, was waving her finger at me, in warning. That idea was a _no_ , _no. Your mother is in the house, dumbass._

When I felt his teeth nip at my earlobe, I moaned. I couldn't help the way my body was reacting to him. That little Angel, was now standing with her hands on her hips, tapping her foot. "Edward."

"Hmmm..." he responded.

"Pool." Was the only verbal sound that came out of my mouth.

He moved his hands and rubbed them over my arms before he pulled away from me. "You go ahead; I need a few minutes."

Releasing me from his hold, he scooted back, giving me room to get up.

I stood and righted my bikini bottoms. _What? I had a wedgie._ "Take your time," I said over my shoulder as I started walking over to the pool. I wasn't sure if my legs would carry me following that intense touching session, so I stood for a moment, collecting myself before I continued sashaying my ass for a particular male sitting on the lounger behind me.

I fought my instincts to turn and look at him. I knew what I would see if I did.

He was sporting massive wood and needed a few minutes to try and compose himself. I wasn't helping him by trying to be seductive.

I honestly didn't want to tease him because it would only make matters a little difficult for myself, as well, but why not? I was having fun flirting, and that's something I never thought I'd do.

In the short while that I've known him, he's completely turned me inside out and made me feel things I've never felt at my young age. I was finally realizing that, when I was with Anthony, he turned me on, but nothing to the extent of what Edward was doing to me. He could do it with a look and the gentlest of touches.

And that shit's scaring the day lights out of me.

When I stepped down into the pool, I contemplated on just diving in. That brought me back to my relationship with Edward. _Hmmm...should I_ _just dive right in and let things happen the way they're supposed to?_

That remains to be seen, so I did just that, I dove in without easing in like a scared little child. I never had these same feelings with Anthony and felt what Edward was doing to me; making me feel young and carefree. I would make sure he knew what I felt, very soon. I didn't want him to wait much longer.

All I needed now, was the guy to keep me afloat.

Speaking of said guy, he finally stood from the lounge chair, taking a few running steps, diving into the pool and heading in my direction.

When he got close enough to me, I tried moving away, squealing with excitement, but he grabbed my legs, pulling me under.

When we both came up, I was a sputtering mess. Chlorinated water wasn't the best tasting water and it burned when it went up my nose.

I smacked his chest after I was done coughing. "OW! What was that for?"

"You ass. Water went up my nose, if you didn't notice me coughing," I said, moving away from him. I was headed to the edge of the pool when I felt him grab me around the waist. I screamed when he hoisted me up and walked over to set me down on the side of the pool. I thought he was going to dunk me under the water, again.

"Sorry." He pushed my legs open and draped his arms over my knees. "I was just playing around," he said with a pout.

I leaned down and gave him a small kiss. "I know. You just surprised me, that's all."

He leaned forward and gave my stomach a kiss with a lick in its wake.

I ran my fingers through his wet hair and pulled his head closer to me when he continued kissing and licking at my stomach. I loved when he wrapped his arms around my waist and before I registered what was happening, he was sucking on a mouth full of my flesh.

I could feel the sting and knew he was marking me. I pushed him away while he still had a mouth full of my stomach. "Hey!"

He gave me a devious smile. "What?" Then he tried to look innocent.

I looked down and saw a huge reddish-purple mark right next to my belly button. It was the size of a golf ball. "What the hell?"

"Couldn't help it; you taste so good." He tried to defend himself.

"It's called tanning oil and now I can't even go down to the beach, at all," I complained.

"Sure you can." He smiled at me. "You just can't wear a bikini."

I moved my hand to smack him and he jumped back. We were both laughing at his absurdity.

His facial expression faltered to a scowl when I saw him looking between my legs. It was then I realized what he saw.

I closed my legs and got up from the edge of the pool. I didn't need to hear any lectures from him about the scars on my thighs. They were slowly fading, but not quick enough. They were a physical reminder of what I had with Anthony; the only visible sign that he had existed. Everything else was invisible. The pain, the hurt and my quickly mending broken heart.

"Bella, what the hell is that?" He asked as he followed me out of the pool.

I didn't answer him and I wasn't sure if I wanted to.

I walked over and grabbed my towel, wrapping it around my waist. I wanted my thighs completely out of view and I honestly didn't even think about the scars or Edward seeing them, when I put my bikini on. Being around him, made me completely forget everything I never wanted to think about, again.

He walked over and sat down next to me. "Bella, please tell me."

I shook my head and covered my face with my hands. "I think you should go home."

He pulled my hands away from my face. Using his fingers, he urged me to look up at him. I closed my eyes once we made eye contact. "Please don't do this? Everyone has flaws. I wanna know all of yours from inside and out; every inch of you."

I opened my crying eyes to find his pleading ones staring back at me. "I want you to know every one of my flaws." The tears started to roll faster down my cheeks. "But what you saw, isn't a flaw, Edward," I said, flopping my head back against the headrest of the lounger to pull away from him. "What you saw are mistakes that I should've never let happen."

My mom decided at that moment to make an appearance. "Hey, you two."

I wiped my face before she noticed. "Hi, mom."

"Hi, Mrs. Dwyer. I was about to head out."

"Oh, well, don't head out on my account," mom said as she sat her glass of tea down on the small table between the loungers.

"Nah, I've got some stuff to take care of and I need to get all my gear loaded up before school tomorrow." He stood and reached his hand out toward me. "Walk me out?"

"Sure." I glanced over at my mom. "I'll be right back."

"Okay, bye, Edward."

"Bye, Mrs. Dwyer," Edward said as we started walking toward the patio door.

We walked through the foyer, Edward grabbing his other clothes on our way out.

When we made it out to his truck, he pulled me into a tight hug. "Look, I'm confused about what you said to me out there, but just know that I won't judge you. You said that whatever it is, was a mistake, well, everyone makes them and learns from them. I know I have." He pulled from our hug and held me at arm's length, looking directly in my eyes. "Just please don't shut me out. We just got together and I want you to be able to trust me. I'm here for you, okay? I don't want us to be just boyfriend and girlfriend. I want us to be best friends."

I nodded. "Okay," I whispered, letting a few tears slip free. "I'm sorry. I don't know how to explain it to you, but I will; I promise, and I want nothing more than to have the same with you."

"That's all I'm asking." He used his thumbs and wiped my tears away. "Don't cry. We'll work it out. You just need to trust me and be open with me. I don't want us keeping secrets from each other. I promise to never keep anything from you. Little by little, we'll get there and trusting each other is a start."

He pulled me into another hug and I melted into his embrace; he made me feel safe and secure. "Will you call or text me later?"

"Yeah, count on it. Now, go hang out with your mom and do what girls do. I'm sure she has loads of questions for you," he suggested and leaned back to look at me. He smiled and leaned down to place his lips on mine.

What I expected to be a small chaste kiss, turned into more. His hands gripped around my neck and pulled me closer to deepen the kiss.

Our make-out session was interrupted when a car pulled up. It was Phil. "Hey, you two love-birds."

"Hey, Phil."

"Hey, Mr. Dwyer," Edward responded, moving to stand behind me and I knew why. The poor guy was a walking wood factory for the past couple of days.

Phil chuckled. "Son, I've known you since birth and you've never called me Mr. Dwyer."

"Well, I've never dated your daughter before," Edward retorted.

Phil chuckled at him, again. "True," he said, walking closer to where we were standing. "But nothing's changed. Keep calling me Phil. Worry about Charlie when he comes down. He does carry a gun, you know. He'll be here at Thanksgiving," Phil said, teasingly.

"Okay, I'll take that into consideration. Thanks for the forewarning, Phil," Edward replied back to him.

Phil clapped Edward on the shoulder. "I'm heading in. See you inside, Bella."

Phil walked away, making his way inside the house. I turned to face Edward. "So, what time do you leave for school?"

"Considering tomorrow's the first day, I'll leave a little earlier than I usually do so that I can take all my stuff to the locker room. School starts at eight-thirty, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, mom's etched that on my brain," I replied. I placed both my hands on his chest. "I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Definitely. Expect me to hold your hand and kiss you in front of everyone," he informed me with a winner of all smiles.

I smiled back at him. "I look forward to it."

"Okay, I'm outta here. I'll call you in a little while," he said, leaning down and giving me a lingering kiss. It was making my toes curl like our first kiss.

I whined. "I changed my mind. I don't want you to go."

"I gotta. My truck isn't gonna load itself and I don't wanna wait till the last minute to get it loaded," he explained, kissing me, again. "We'll see each other tomorrow and talk later."

"Fine." I hugged him one more time before he climbed up into his truck.

When he pulled away, I felt my heart falter just a little. I needed to be completely honest with him about what happened to me. I know that he knows most of the story, but the part about my scars are a big part of what I really don't want to share with him. If I truly want an honest relationship with him, I need to pull my head out of my ass and be honest. It's about the both of us, not just me, anymore. I wasn't about to risk our relationship because I'm embarrassed.

The last three weeks, being around Edward, has made me only see him, and the last few days, being around him, touching him, kissing him and just him, has kept my mind on him. Edward has become my top priority when it comes to my love life. I really did want him...all of him. I had to stop repeating myself.

I walked back out to where mom was. I was happy to have a little time to spend with her before our hectic week started the next day.

I plopped down on the lounger next to her and sighed. She was reading some book that was gray and had a pair of handcuffs on the cover. I didn't even bother asking what she was reading. She always had a book in her hand or was reading something.

"Another love story?" I asked. That was normally what she read and her imagination always went wild when it came to them. It was no wonder Phil loves her so much.

"Yeah, it's supposed to be one of the best love stories to come out since _Titanic._ I haven't been able to put it down since I started reading it," she explained. She put her book mark in it to save her place. I knew some girl talk was about to happen.

"Hmmm...love stories. There's always one better than another out there," I retorted. I stretched my legs out and grabbed the tanning oil to rub on my legs since Edward didn't get that far before.

I could feel her eyes on me. "Is everything okay between you and Edward? You two seemed like you were having an intense conversation when I came out."

"Yeah, we're just..." I couldn't tell her the real reason we were talking so intensely. "...having some honesty issues. All from me, though."

"What's so hard about being honest with him? You made the decision to try having a relationship with him." She asked, concern behind her tone.

I sighed. "I don't know. I guess I'm just finding it strange to actually confide in him. These are hurdles I'm still working on," I explained, shrugging my shoulders, giving her a small smile.

Mom turned and faced me. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

I nodded, answering her. "I don't wanna come across like the overbearing mother and invade your privacy, but I've gotta ask this one question." She sighed heavily before she spoke, again. "You never really answered my question about you and Anthony being intimate, but were you afraid to tell me? Afraid of how I would react?"

"What's that got to do with anything?" I asked, quizzically, not having any idea where this conversation was going.

"Well, young girls, such as yourself and older women, too..." She stalled, thinking her words over. "What I'm trying to say is, it's harder to let a relationship go once there's sex involved. When you give yourself to someone like that intimately, you give them a part of yourself and it's hard to get that back. I'm not saying you could ever get your virginity back, but it's harder to find and get that feeling of being whole again." She sighed. "I know you thought you were in love with Anthony and I'm thinking that the reason you're having such a hard time with being so open with Edward, is because you gave that part of you away to someone else."

I thought for a minute about what she said and I agreed with her. I was taking back that part of myself, slowly but surely. I hoped that once I explained everything to Edward, I could be myself completely from now on.

I was starting to realize that I wasn't in love with Anthony like I thought I was. I loved him, yes, but I wasn't in love with him like I thought I was; he was just an obsession. That has to be the reason why it's becoming easier and easier to let Edward in.

I gave her a small nod. "We did, and I regret it now."

"Can I ask, why?"

"I guess I should have saved myself for someone that I was really and truly in love with. I feel like I only just loved him and wasn't in love with him. He made me promise that I'd always be his and that's why I felt like I was in love with him. I felt obligated to tell him yes." I explained the best I could at that moment and I almost forgot that I was talking to my mom.

I glanced over at her and she had a puzzled look on her face. I couldn't tell by her reaction, whether she was happy about my confession or just plain confused.

We were silent for a few minutes before she spoke. "Why in the world would he make you promise something like that?"

"I don't know, but I'm just glad that he's gone and out of my life, and I don't have to worry about breaking any promises. He's the one who left.." I replied, feeling somewhat uncomfortable about my confessions to her given that she is my mother, after all.

She smiled over at me. "I'm glad, too, sweetie, but I know I can sit here and lecture you until I'm blue in the face about sex and not to do it until your married or save it for someone that your completely and truly in love with, but I'd be making a fool of myself because me and your dad, well, we didn't wait, but I don't regret one bit of our relationship." I cringed. "Don't be like that. I'm trying to make a point here and you're getting all grossed out over nothing." She reached over wanting me to take her hand and I did. "Just be careful, please. You don't wanna be in a situation you're not ready for. Heck, Phil and I are trying for a baby of our own."

Surprise etched my face as I hopped up from my lounger and launched myself at her. "Oh, my God. That's exciting news." We hugged and giggled together at the possibility of a new baby in the house soon.

I sat back down, unable to get the smile off my face. "Who knows, we may have a honeymoon baby on the way."

"This is such great news. I can't wait to tell Alice and Edward," I said excitedly.

She turned to face me and clapped her hands. "Now, as far as you," she said in a sing-song tone. "How do you feel about me taking you to the doctor and getting you on birth control?"

I was a little taken aback that she would suggest birth control, but I could completely understand why. "Sure. Just let me know when the appointment is. I'm due for my period in a week, so it'll have to be sometime this week or in a couple of weeks."

"Okay, I'll call Dr. Jensen on my lunch hour tomorrow," she informed me before getting up from her lounger. "Let's head inside to get dinner ready." She stopped and abruptly turned toward me. "Nice love bite you got there." She pretended like shew as going to pinch me.

I was so embarrassed. I had forgotten that Edward sucked a huge hickey on my stomach.

I grabbed my towel from around my waist and moved it up. I knew if Phil saw it, he'd give me shit about it, too.

Speaking of Phil, he came galloping down the stairs, freshly showered. "Hey, ladies," he said, giving mom a quick kiss and me a kiss on my cheek.

"Hey you. We're about to start dinner," mom informed him.

Mom and I headed upstairs to change before we started dinner after Phil agreed to go ahead and pull the stuff out that we were going to make.

As we cooked, we joked around and made more of a mess than we intended to do. It was great to spend time with both mom and Phil.

During dinner, we talked about their honeymoon and the impending arrival of a new baby. They both had sparkles in their eyes at the thought.

After we cleaned the kitchen together, we said our good-nights and made our way upstairs to our rooms. I was anxious to call Edward.

I showered and got my school clothes together. I also made sure all the other stuff I needed, was in my backpack. I was a little nervous about starting a new school, but I knew with Alice and Edward there, I'd make it through just fine.

It was close to ten o'clock when I realized I hadn't called Edward yet, so I plopped down on my bed and snuggled in before I reached for my phone. I noticed there was a text from him that I must've missed while I was in the shower.

I opened the message and smiled. I could definitely feel myself falling for him more and more.

 _Thinking of you. Call me before you go to bed –E_

I made quick work of the numbers on my phone. His barely made it to the second ring. _"Ello, love,"_ he answered in his form of a British accent.

"I didn't realize my boyfriend was English," I said jokingly.

" _Boyfriend, eh?"_ He asked mockingly.

I was stunned silent for a minute before I spoke again. "Sorry. That just came out."

" _Don't be sorry. I like the way it sounds and I'm happy at the fact my_ _girlfriend called me."_ I sighed, loving the sound of his voice.

I mimicked him in return. "Girlfriend, eh?"

" _Right now, I'm assuming that we've become official and in an_ _unromantic way, over the phone, I might add,"_ he said teasingly. My smile grew wide enough to scrunch my eyes.

"Well, just so you know, I'm not much of a romantic; only every once in a while. I do like heart and I do like flowers, but not all the time. I'm an occasional romantic," I conveyed to him with a giggle.

He chuckled. _"Duly noted. I'll have to remember that."_

"Good, now, I have some stuff to say to you before I lose the nerve." I took in a deep breath and he agreed. "I wanna start off by apologizing about this afternoon. I've made one huge mistake in my life and I'm a little ...actually a lot embarrassed about it..."

Edward interrupted me before I could continue. _"Bella, wait. You don't_ _have to tell me right now. When you're ready. I can wait. I ..."_

I cut him off in return. "Edward, shut up and let me finish. Don't interrupt me unless it's important."

" _Fine,"_ he reluctantly agreed. This was already hard enough on me as it was and I didn't need him to try and convince me to wait any longer.

"Thank you. Geesh! This is hard for me to tell you and I hate that I'm doing it on the phone. I just can't bare it if..." I sighed and thought for a couple of seconds. "I just can't bear the thought of you walking away from me after I tell you. We've come so far in the last few weeks and I want what you want; us to be completely open and honest with each other. I wanna tell you everything. You've become, not only my boyfriend very recently, but also becoming my best friend. I don't wanna ruin that with my past."

We were quiet for a minute and I could feel tears prickling at the corner of my eyes. "We did some stuff. Me and Anthony. He was my first and only, and I regret it. Every last bit of it. What you saw, are the scars from where he fed from me. They'll eventually go away."

" _How do you know they'll go away?"_ I could hear a little anger behind his words, but I wasn't going to call him on it.

"Well," I sighed heavily. "The one on my neck is completely gone. That's how I know," I answered honestly.

I heard him sigh. _"Okay."_

"I'm sorry." Now I was feeling really bad because this was something I wanted to tell him to his face. This is the cowards way of telling someone something you didn't want to in the first place. I need to shut up because I'm carrying on a conversation with myself in my head and I'm not shutting up.

" _Just tell me,"_ he said in a low voice.

Tears started falling. I could tell he was upset by his tone. "Maybe I shouldn't. I'm afraid you'll see me differently." I felt myself slowly backing out of telling him. I just needed his reassurance that we'll be okay.

" _I won't lie and tell you I'm not getting upset, but this is your past and after_ you _tell me, that's where it'll stay, okay."_ That's all I needed to hear. I just got him; I didn't want to lose him already after two days.

I wiped my tears and composed myself. "I guess the easiest way to say it without going into all the details is..." I sighed, again. "God, I hate this. Please tell me we'll be okay."

" _Bella, we'll be fine. I'm not going anywhere, and didn't we agree that honesty is a large part of a relationship when two people really wanna be together?."_ His reassurance made me smile...slightly.

"Yes." I guess I was just pausing for effect. "Okay, um...I let him feed from me on my thighs because the marks were easier to hide there and he usually only fed from me while I was having an orgasm from him going down on me." I cringed, waiting for his reaction. I hoped I said it fast enough that he understood it because I really didn't want to repeat another word about it.

He was quiet, but I could hear his breathing become harsher and I knew he was beyond pissed.

When he spoke, I flinched. _"Please tell me you didn't fuckin' go down on him, too? Please, Bella? It's hard enough to hear that you've had sex with him, but to think that his dead dick was in your mouth..."_

I was uncontrollably crying now and I could barely get the words to come out, through my sobs. "I ca...can't. I'm...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I understand if you never wanna see me again."

" _Just shut the fuck up about that shit, already. I shouldn't be pissed because it's your past, but I am. I'm pissed at him for taking advantage of you. How old did you say he was? A hundred and twenty?"_

"Yes," I answered quietly, still afraid of what his next words would be.

" _Bella, listen to me. I may only be eighteen, but I know when someone's being taken advantage of and you were definitely taken advantage of. He's well over old enough to know better. That's probably why he prey's on young girls because they're so vulnerable and gullible. I'm not saying that you didn't know a damn thing about what was going on, but look at the bigger picture here, Bella. You're sixteen, for Christ sake. He knew all the right words to lure you in and make you fall for him. For all we know, he compelled you to feel like you loved him. And I'm sure you did, but for fucks sake, there is no way on God's green earth, that he loved you. Please tell me you understand what I'm saying."_

I never really thought about it that way. I became one of Anthony's victims. I fell for his sentiments; his words of love forever and to top it off, and promises of forever and now that I thought about it, that took a whole lot of weight off my shoulders. I still felt a little overwhelmed with admitting my downfall.

A loud sob escaped me. _"Bella, please? Just calm down. I'm not mad at you. I swear; it's him. I wanna rip his fuckin' head off for what he did to you. And please know that I'll never, ever take advantage of you or do anything remotely close to what he did to you. That's not me and it never will be. We don't ever have to talk about this again."_

My heart raced at his committed words. "There's more I wanna tell you, but it has to do with you and me."

 _"Are you gonna tell me now?"_

 _"_ I'd rather tell you in person." My tears had calmed tremendously as relief eased my conscience.

" _Tomorrow." He told me._ _"So can we just focus on us from now on?_

I wish he could see the smile on my face. "Yeah, definitely."

" _Okay, good. Look, it's late and we should get to bed. I'll see you at_ _school tomorrow,"_ he said and at that moment, I yawned. " _See, you're exhausted. Go wash those tears off your beautiful face and_ _dream about me tonight because I'll be dreamin' of you."_ I just swooned.

"I will. Goodnight Edward."

" _Goodnight, baby. I'll see you tomorrow."_ And I just squealed into my pillow from happiness. Screw my tears. I never wanted to cry over Anthony ever again, and I knew from my conversation with Edward that we may actually make it. I know it's too soon to tell, but I had a very good feeling about Edward.

I loved it.

I would love to say I dreamed of only Edward that night, but I'd be lying to myself, if I did.

* * *

 **I'm gonna try and get another chapter out tonight. I've not been sleeping well and it's finally catching up to me.**

 **Love to all.**

 **RTB**


	13. Chapter 13

**It's the first day of school for these love birds. Let's see what happens. Who thinks there's gonna be some real winners in this chapter?**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns all characters and all mistakes are my own.**

 **2/7/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 13**

 **BPOV**

* * *

Monday morning came way too quickly. Mom was leaving an hour before me because she still had some stuff to set up in her classroom and by eight o'clock, Alice was ringing my doorbell. "Come in for a sec; I need to grab my bag."

She walked in, standing by the door while I ran upstairs to get my backpack. My car keys were downstairs and that was all I had left to grab. I never carried a purse during school; too much hassle. I put my wallet in my backpack to make it easier.

Alice didn't wait. The moment we were settled in my car, she pounced. "You wanna tell me what my brother was practically screaming about last night? His room is right next to mine and I couldn't help but hear him. I didn't hear what was being said, but he could definitely be heard."

Alice already knew everything that happened between me and Anthony, so the less words I said, I knew she'd know what I was talking about. "I told him everything."

"About Anthony?" I nodded, answering her question.

"I get the impression he was pissed?" If she only knew the entirety of it.

I nodded, again. "You could say that."

"Are you guys okay, though?" I knew Alice wanted Edward and me as a couple almost more than him and I do. Her vision of us being together was something I tried not to give her the credit for. I'd like to hope that my relationship with Edward was exactly the way all things are supposed to happen with our lives.

Another nod. "Yeah. And we're a couple now."

She squealed, clapping her hands. "See, I told you so."

"Yeah, yeah, you did, but that doesn't mean you can meddle, okay," I said, firmly. If I didn't tell her to keep her nose in her own business, she'd be putting her two cents in every chance she got.

"I know. And I won't. Only if I think it's important, which, speaking of, I had another vision last night," she said, while reaching into her purse and pulling out a piece of gum. "Want a piece?"

"Yeah, and what was this vision of yours?" If she even tells me anything about me and Edward, I'd pull over and kick her out of my car.

"I'm telling you, Bella. There has to be something about you. I haven't had this many visions...ever. It's like, you show up and my ju-ju opens up completely." Then she chuckled. " Anyway, it was about your mom. Are her and Phil trying to have a baby?" Crap, I knew I forgot to tell her something. I was so caught up in my drama with Edward, that I forgot to say anything to either of them.

"Yeah, why?" Then I had a thought. "Oh, God, please tell me it isn't bad?" I didn't know if I could handle any bad news, especially about my mom.

She shook her head. "No. Definitely not bad, but it does take them quite a few months to conceive. I don't know, maybe sooner. I can't give you a definite timeline." Then she sighed. "And I saw her pregnant along with someone else, but I couldn't see her face. Your moms face was all I could see clearly. The other people around her were all blurry."

"Probably one of her co-workers. Or your mom. That would be funny," I said, giggling as I imagined my mom and Esme pregnant together. Poor Phil and Carlisle.

"That would be funny, but no, it's not my mom. She had to have a hysterectomy after I was born," she explained, almost looking hurt. I apologized, feeling a little sad myself, for her.

Our conversation about pregnancies was dropped when we pulled into the school parking lot. I saw Edwards truck parked closest to the school and lucky enough, the spot next to him was open, so I took it.

After I parked, I noticed a car stop behind me; the person glaring at me through the driver side window. I paid no attention and went about my business.

Alice and I started walking when I heard someone behind me. "Excuse me."

I turned to see a blonde approaching us. I raised my eyebrows at her. "Yes."

"You took my parking spot. I always park next to Edward, so move your car," the no name, bimbo demanded.

Alice stepped in front of me. "Can it Tanya. Your name isn't anywhere near that spot."

"Fuck you, Alice. Now. Move. Your. Car," she demanded, again, but I wasn't giving in that easily.

"No," I said, turning to walk away.

She did the wrong thing and grabbed my arm. I didn't hesitate turning on her and twisting her arm behind her back. "Don't ever touch me, again."

Edward came running up about that time. "Hey, hey, what's goin' on here?"

"Get your fuckin' hands off me!" Tanya sneered through gritted teeth.

I shoved her forward and reached down to grab my backpack that I dropped before the cow grabbed me.

"Edward, this bitch parked in my spot and won't move. I don't know who the hell she thinks she is, but if she thinks she's taking my spot next to you, then she's got another thing coming." Tanya only thought she was threatening me, but what she didn't know, won't hurt her...right now.

Edward shook his head. "Tanya, first of all, don't you ever call my girlfriend a bitch and secondly, starting tomorrow, you can have your spot back." We turned to walk away, but he turned back to a very pissed off Tanya. "And by the way, keep your hands to yourself. I'm sure you don't want that face of yours messed up."

Edward turned back around and wrapped his arms around me, placing a wet, open-mouthed kiss on my lips. "Hey, sweetness," he said after he pulled away and reached for my hand.

"Hey, yourself." We started walking, hand in hand, just like he said he wanted to do. "Who the hell was that?"

"That is the infamous Tanya Denali. She's the cliché cheer captain, prom queen who thinks everyone should bow down to her," he explained to me, but I didn't care who she was; she needed to keep her attitude in check.

Alice sidled up next to me, slipping her arm through mine. "Don't worry about her. She's been after Edward since Kindergarten. She thinks just because she's an aspiring model and holier than thou, miss popular, she can boss anyone around."

"Well, she needs to learn to keep her hands to herself or I won't be so nice next time. She's lucky I didn't shove her face into the pavement." I looked over at Alice who was beaming with pride.

We continued walking and went to our lockers. We thanked our lucky stars that our lockers were only four spaces apart.

Edward's locker was in a different hall because he was a Senior, but he wasn't in a hurry to get to his because he'd already been.

We walked Alice to her first class, promising to meet up at lunch then headed to my first class; advanced Calculus. Yup, I'm a nerd when it comes to my school work.

We stopped just outside the doorway before Edward pulled me into a tight hug. He lowered his head to kiss me. I wasn't so big on PDA, but with him, I wasn't giving a shit. AT. ALL.

We got a little carried away until we heard a throat clear behind us. "Mr. Cullen."

Edward and I turned to see an older man glaring at us. "Mr. Carson," Edward said and smiled.

"Isn't there a class that you need to be in, right now, Mr. Cullen?"

"I'm on my way there, right now, sir," Edward replied.

He looked down at me and kissed my temple. "I'll see you in a bit," then walked away toward his class.

I was left standing with Mr. Carson. "And what name shall I call you?"

"Bella Swan, sir," I replied, feeling embarrassment spread like wild fire.

He nodded his head. "Ah, yes, Mrs. Dwyer's daughter." He extended his hand to me. "Nice to meet you. I'm Ernie Carson, your Advanced Calculus teacher." He gestured toward the classroom door. "Shall we?" I smiled, nodding at him.

The class was loud when we walked in and he gestured toward the remaining empty seat. And unfortunately, it was in between a huge guy wearing a football jersey and none other than...shit, I forgot her name. The chick from the grocery store and the boardwalk. She was the one that was giving Edward googly eyes.

She looked up when I scooted into my seat. "I remember you. You were with Alice at the grocery store. What was your name, again?"

It wasn't normal for me to be rude, so I answered. "Bella."

I didn't even bother asking her name because I didn't care. "Wow, I didn't expect you to be in any advanced classes. I figured you'd be off with Alice in some of hers." Her comment caused me to grit my teeth. Was she insinuating Alice wasn't smart enough to be in advanced classes?

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She shrugged her shoulders at me. "Alice just doesn't seem to...you know."

"No, I don't know and I hope you're not trying to say she's stupid because she's a lot smarter than what you think." I chuckled at her. "That's quite two faced of you. You were all nice and giddy when you saw her at the store and now, you're accusing her of being stupid. How pathetic can you be?"

She sneered at me. "Oh, shut up. You don't have a clue what you're talking about."

"Oh, I think I..."

I was cut off, mid-sentence, by Mr. Carson. "Ladies, class is starting," he warned.

And for the rest of class, she kept giving me the evil eye while the football player on the other side of me, was trying way too hard to flirt with my very uninterested self. Dear God, please fast forward time. That's all I'm asking, right now.

When class was over, Edward was waiting outside the door for me. "What the heck did you do...run?"

"Something like that." He leaned down and kissed me about the same time whats-her-face came walking out.

Her eyes bugged out of her head when she witnessed us kissing. "Edward?"

Edward turned towards her. "Yes?"

"Is she your girlfriend?" She glared at me with a sneer. If she could shoot daggers from her eyes, I'd be dead.

"Yes, now if you'll excuse us, Bella needs to get to her next class." We walked away as her mouth dropped open and she huffed at us. Such petulance...I swear.

My next class was Advanced Biology.

We passed Alice on our way. "Hey, how is it so far?" She hugged me and patted Edward on the shoulder.

"Eh, it's okay. I have my first class with the chick from the grocery store." Alice looked dumbfounded for a couple of seconds; wracking her brain, trying to figure out who I was talking about.

Her eyes grew wide when she realized who I was referring to. "Oh, her. Don't mind her. She's a snobby, bitch, too." She hugged me, again. "Okay, gotta go. See ya later." And she was off prancing to her next class.

It only took us another minute to get to my class. When we stopped, I was curious about something. "Are you risking being late to your classes just to walk me to mine?"

A guilty look appeared on his gorgeous face. "Sorta."

"Edward, don't do that. I'm a big girl," I scolded. He stuck his bottom lip out, pouting at me.

"But, I want to," he said like a small demanding child.

I playfully smacked his chest. "Oh, stop. Just for today. I don't want you getting in trouble for being late all the time."

"I'll see what I can do." Then we kissed each other, and I felt it all the way to my toes.

When we pulled apart, people, mainly girls, were staring at us as they walked by. Me in particular, but I figured they could just go screw themselves.

"See you in a little bit," Edward said as he started walking away.

"Hey, I have a free period next class. I'm just heading to the library." I wanted him to know that he didn't have to rush to my beck and call for every class.

"Cool, me too." He winked at me and walked off.

Mr. Wilks was my Advanced Biology teacher. He seemed fairly nice. I didn't foresee any problems getting along with him, and fortunately, I didn't have any run ins with anyone that would be a potential threat to me. I did receive awkward glances and stares from various people. And again, mainly girls.

When class was over, Edward was standing outside the library when I finally found it. He pushed himself off the wall, from where he was leaning on it. I smiled at the gorgeousness in front of me.

When I made it to him, he reached his hand out to take mine. "How's my girl?"

"Fine, now that I'm here with you," I replied, stepping up on my tip-toes to kiss him. Then I thought for a second that it sounded too sugar coated, but I mentally wiped that from my brain.

We made our way into the library and Edward guided us to the farthest corner, away from everything and everyone. It was a secluded area that had a couple of tables behind some of the book shelves. It gave us plenty of privacy to talk or whatever other situation happens to pop up.

We sat our backpacks down on the table he chose and took our seats. Edward didn't waste any time scooting his chair over as close to me, as possible. The first thing he did, he cupped my face with one hand and with the other, he eased it around the back of my neck, threading his fingers in my hair.

We just sat there staring at each other before smiles spread across our faces. "I already miss having you all to myself."

I felt a little shy at first, but I knew exactly how he felt. "Me, too."

He pressed his lips to mine, coaxing me to open fully to him. Our kiss escalated to a full on make out session.

When Edward's hands started roaming, I pulled back. "Not here," I whispered, pulling his hand from where it was cupping one of my breasts.

Edward groaned, closing his eyes. I glanced down and saw his shorts were now tented out in the front. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It seems to be happening a lot more lately. I can't help it when I'm around you like this." I giggled at him as I reached up to cup his face. We both smiled at each other.

I leaned in and applied a light kiss to his lips. "If it's any consolation, you make me pretty twitchy in my lady bits, too."

The biggest grin, ever, spread across his face. "Really?"

"Yes, really. Now, there was a couple of things I wanted to talk to you about and I have an hour, well, fifty minutes because the other ten minutes were used attacking each other." I reached down, grasping my chair, turning it so I was completely facing him.

He reached out and grasped my hands and held them where our knees were touching. "Should I be worried about what you have to tell me? I don't know if I can handle hearing anymore stuff like last night, but I'm glad you told me because if you would've waited, then I would've thought you were keeping shit from me."

I shook my head. "No, nothing like that. That's the worst of it; I promise."

"Good, and just so you know, I'm here for you regardless of what you have to tell me. I'm still a little upset about last night and I don't think I'll ever be over it, but I'm doing the best I can for you," he said, shrugging his shoulders, slightly.

"Thank you because, Edward, as much as I already love Alice, she's a best-friend to me, but with you, I want it all. The friendship, companionship, and eventually intimacy. And of course...love," I said, looking down where our hands were clasped together.

One of Edward's hands came up and rested under my chin, tilting my head up so I was looking at his gorgeous face. I was finally getting over the fact that him and Anthony looked so much alike, except their eyes and mannerisms. Edwards eyes are more tender and loving.

Edward eyes had the most beautiful bluish-gray, with a hint of green. There were days where they looked more blue and today, they had more of a green tint to them. I'm assuming Anthony's changed when he was turned into a vampire. They still had color to them, but they weren't quite as bright as Edwards.

"Just so you know, I'm already on the highway for all that and I'm moving pretty damn fast," he said, using his thumb to trace my bottom lip. "To love, I mean. My feelings for you are very strong, right now. That's all I'm sayin'."

I nodded, agreeing with him, but I wasn't ready to say that out loud. The more I was around him, the more my feelings grew. I was still a little skeptical about love.

"Well..." I trailed off, tilting my head to the side, giving him a small smile, sighing. "I've had a couple of heart to heart talks with my mom. She made me see where my reluctance, in our relationship, was coming from and why I was pushing you away, at first." I scooted closer to him, opening up my legs and clamping his between mine. "You and especially my mom, made me realize that I was never truly in love with Anthony, and you made me realize, last night, that he never really loved me. The reason is because, I never got comfortable enough to give myself to him fully. Yes, we did things physically, but my heart never fully became his even though we had a sexual relationship. The most stupid part is, I thought I was so in love with him. I thought he was it for me and I'm thanking every lucky star there is out there that he left because that led me here to you; I want to be yours."

"You are mine," he whispered to me.

"And you're mine," I whispered in returned and smiled. I took a deep breath and Edward nodded at me to continue. "My mom's the main reason why I gave you a chance. She made me see that you and Anthony are completely different people and that if I was always questioning myself about giving you a chance, then I shouldn't. I didn't want it to be like that; always questioning myself. It had already been over five months since the last time I saw him and I knew then it was over. I won't lie and say I wasn't shattered when he left because I was. He never said good-bye or anything, but I was also mad at myself for feeling embarrassed for him doing that to me. I felt like I needed answers, but now that you and my mom have made me see the bigger picture, I don't care. I don't need or want to know what happened. I'm humiliated from this experience and I know now that he used me."

I paused my word vomiting train to give him a chance to throw in his opinion.

He reached up and caressed my cheek with the back of his hand. "I guess I owe your mom a _thank you,_ don't I?"

I nodded and chuckled. "You can thank yourself, too. I hadn't been fair to myself or you, by holding onto something that was never meant to be." I reached up and mimicked his earlier movement, using my thumb to trace his lower lip. "By me doing that, I was wasting time on a broken heart, but you started healing it for me; you've healed me. My only concern, a few weeks ago, was that you two looked so much alike, but now, I only have to look into your eyes to know that your my Edward. Your eyes are pure and true."

Edward picked up one of my hands and brought the palm of it to his lips, kissing it. "I could never hurt you."

"And, I don't ever wanna hurt you, that's why I was so afraid I would confuse you with him, but after we finally starting talking and spending time together, there's no way I can confuse the two of you. There's no comparison at all. You've made me feel, in these last few weeks, more things that I've never felt before and I want more of it. I'm happy now and feel like I've gotten that small part of me, back, that I gave to him. There's nothing holding me back anymore."

"I'm sorry that you had to go through all that." He leaned forward and gave me a small peck on the lips, "...but I'm not sorry it all led you to me."

I smiled at his truthfulness. "I'm yours; heart and soul."

He scooted closer to me, causing me to practically straddle him, and pulled me into a hug. "You've had mine from the moment I laid eyes on you, regardless of my sisters predictions."

"I look forward to every minute.

"I know you do, and so do I."

We got engrossed in another make out session and before too long, the bell rang, signaling that it was time for lunch.

We walked, hand in hand, to the cafeteria, meeting Alice at the entrance when we approached. "Hey, you two, love-birds."

"You been in yet to save us a table?" Edward asked as he opened the door for me and Alice to walk in ahead of him.

"I stuck my head in. There's plenty to choose from. Are you not sitting with the guys from the team?" Alice went ahead of me and Edward in the lunch line, which wasn't very long. "Oh, good, there's still some good stuff left."

"We'll see. I was wanting to introduce, Bella, to the guys," Edward said, reaching for a tray.

After we got our lunch, we made our way over to a table that was full with about six guys. "Hey, Cullen." One guy said, getting up and pulling a chair around for Edward.

Two other guys stood up and pulled two more chairs from another table, for me and Alice. "What's up, guys?" Edward asked as he sat down, guiding me to the chair next to him. "You all know Alice." All the guys said their _hellos_ to her. "And this is my girlfriend, Bella."

All the guys grew smiles a mile wide. One of them, stood up and extended his hand out to me. "Hi, Bella, I'm Tyler. Nice to meet you."

I nodded my head. "Nice to meet you, too."

Edward started pointing out all the guys to me. "That's James, Eric, Matt, Josh and that big guy over there, is Sydney."

They all told me that it was nice to meet me. I nodded, scooting a little closer to Edward. "Hey, Cullen, you hear about the new guy on the team?"

"No, have you guys met him yet?" Edward asked, shoving a bite of his chicken sandwich into his mouth.

Sydney spoke up. "I've seen him. I think his name is Jasper or something like that. We heard he just moved here from Texas."

"That's cool. I guess we'll all meet him next week during our first practice." Edward shoved more food into his mouth and smiled over at me.

"So, Bella..." That was Matt speaking. "Where'd you move from?"

"Washington State. Forks, actually. It's about three and a half hours outside of Seattle. It really depends on how fast you drive. There's some stops along the way you don't wanna miss."

He nodded his head. "That's cool. Your dad get a transfer or something?"

"No, my mom and step-dad live here. I just wanted a change of scenery," I explained as I started eating my food. Everyone was pretty quiet, especially Alice, which was unusual. She usually had something to say.

"Her step-dad is Phil Dwyer," Edward piped in. All their eyes grew wide and a couple of them even choked on their food.

James, who was one of the guys who choked, was finally able to speak. "No way, man. That's way cool. I feel privileged now. Edward here has his brother, and now your step-dad is Phil Dwyer. That's just...Wow! Think I could get an autograph? I'm a huge fan."

I giggled at his fan boy demeanor. "I don't know. I'll have to ask."

"So, is that how you and our boy, Cullen, met?" Tyler asked.

"You could say that." I looked up at Edward and smiled. "His dad and Phil are best-friends."

I turned to look at Alice. She was engrossed in her phone. She was sending text after text, to someone, but I figured if she wanted me to know, she'd tell me.

After a couple of minutes, I nudged her in the side with my elbow. "Why so quiet?"

"Oh, sorry. I was texting mom. We were making dinner plans for all of us next weekend. She said she'd call your mom. You two don't have plans, do you?"

I shook my head. "No, not that I know of. I haven't even thought about the weekend."

"We were also making plans for the _beginning of school year_ , bash. There's a huge bonfire down at the beach. My dad has to get the permits for it, but they throw it every year. You're definitely going. Your mom and Phil have gone before. It's fun," she continued to explain her conversation with her mom. It really did seem like fun and I would most definitely go.

Eric must've overheard her. "Oh, yeah! The bonfire. When is it, this year?"

"Not this coming weekend, but the next," Alice told him. Everyone else entered the conversation, reminiscing about the past bonfires that they attended.

Apparently, Phil's whole team shows up, amongst numerous kids from school, especially all of the guys from Edward's team.

While my attention was mainly on Alice, I overheard one of the guys whisper, not so quietly, to Edward. "So, Cullen, got yourself a nice piece of ass over there."

I felt Edward jerk away from me. As I turned my head to see what was going on, I saw his fist collide with Tyler's shoulder. "Watch it, buddy. She's not just some piece of ass."

Tyler's hands went up, surrendering. "Sorry. No harm, no foul."

"Edward..." I placed my hand on his arm.

Sydney piped up. "Who the hell is Edward?"

"I am, you fucktwat. It's my name and unlike all you idiots, she likes to use it instead of my last name," Edward explained and everyone nodded their heads. "But that doesn't mean you guys have permission to use it."

"Geez, don't be so uptight, man," Eric mumbled.

The whole table was mostly quiet afterward. A few of the guys were talking about how they hoped their first practice went. I zoned them out. I still wasn't a huge fan of baseball, but considering Phil plays it and so does Edward, I suppose it was a part of my life, regardless.

After lunch, Edward and I headed to the one and only class that we had together. I got lucky and was able to sit right next to him. Edward requested that I sit across from him so he could look up and see me anytime he wanted to.

I agreed, feeling the same way. He was definitely a sight for sore eyes, when needed.

"I'm off to U.S. History, now." We kissed each other a few times after our class was over. "See you after class."

"You bet. Have fun learning about the history of 1918," he said, jokingly before swatting me on the butt.

I giggled. "Eh, I prefer 1901, much better."

When I walked in, I was assaulted by hateful blue eyes and unfortunately, I remembered her name... Jessica. The one in the same from the grocery store, the boardwalk and now, my first class. I rolled my eyes because now I had to deal with her for my last class of the day.

Yay me!

"Ugh, you again. What did I do to deserve this?" She asked no one in particular. I just rolled my eyes and sat as far away from her, as possible.

There was no way in hell I was about to put up with her condescending bullshit.

About ten minutes before class was over, Mr. Andros gave us some free time to skim through our text books so we could get a good idea of what we would be studying for the first half of the school year.

I dreaded the second semester because I absolutely loathed Government.

Jessica had another idea when she decided to plant her scrawny ass down in the seat next to me. "I honestly don't see it."

I glanced over at her. She was eying me from head to toe. I simply ignored her.

"You may be wearing name brand clothes, but that still doesn't make you anyone. You know that, right? You're nobody here and you'll stay that way." I still ignored her. Whatever she had to say, wasn't important. "Keep ignoring me because before too long, it'll be Edward ignoring you. He'll realize how ordinary and boring you are. I'll place a wager on it," she said, hatefully.

That got my attention. "What's your wager?" I only bet on stuff I know for a fact, that I'll win and I already knew that she'll dive bomb this bet...pitifully.

"Oh, you're a betting person?" I gave her a small head nod. "Okay, I'll bet a thousand dollars, which I'm sure you don't have..." If she only knew. "...that you two won't last more than three months, no wait, let's make it two months because honestly, I don't think you two will make it more than another month, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."

I chuckled at her. "Awee...how generous of you. You're such a pompous Quim."

"Whatever...I don't even know what that means, but Edward knows that there's someone better for him; you're just a fluke. You'll see and then he'll come crawling back to date me, again," she said, snidely, grinning at me like she had the upper hand.

I kept my temper in check, wishing for the bell to ring so I could get the hell away from this loon. "Oh, by the way, the bet's on and I wouldn't put all your eggs in one basket. You never know, you might trip and break them all."

"What's that sup..." And thank goodness the bell rang, cutting off the rest of her sentence.

I sighed in relief when I left the room and reminded myself that I needed to ask Edward about dating her.

* * *

 **I wanted to share with all of you that I've personally been to Forks, Washington. The trip is about three and a half to four hours from Seattle. That doesn't include the stops along the way. There's such beautiful places on the way up that you can't resist to stop and admire. We also visited La Push and First Beach. There's the Quileute Oceanside Resort that I'd love to stay at one summer. My sister lives in Marysville, Washington and I love visiting every chance I get. I hope to move there one day. Although Pike Place Market does smell fishy and there's a little shop that makes and sells excellent Turkish Delight. I could sit on the pier all day and watch the boats come into the bay.**

 **Enough about me.**

 **I hope you liked their first day of school. There's always gotta be at least one bimbo in the mix.**

 **See you tomorrow.**

 **Night all.**

 **RTB**


	14. Chapter 14

**A little bit of a surprise for you. We have an EPOV. I thought it was about time we heard from him.**

 ******There is a description of sexual content in this chapter.******

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns all the characters.**

 **2/8/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 14**

 **EPOV**

I couldn't help but walk through the halls of school, with a huge smile on my face. Bella had made me the happiest guy...ever. When she said she wanted an _us,_ I couldn't help my internal reaction. All I wanted, from the moment I laid eyes on her...was her. I knew she'd be the one for me. Everything that happened before Alice had her vision was something I hadn't experienced before. I had a feeling deep down that I'd be meeting my one true love, so I knew they were feelings I was having on my own and when Alice told me what she saw, there was no way I was backing down from pursuing Bella.

The first night I kissed her, I thought my heart was going to explode. I already knew I loved her, but I didn't want to scare her away. It was too soon for me to admit it and I knew she'd been through hell in her past, so I've kept my mouth shut. They may be three small words, but they mean something bigger than just eight little letters. I only hoped that when I got enough courage to tell her, she'd feel the same way.

Our first day of school was something else. I didn't expect Tanya to pull her holier than thou attitude with her. Honestly, if Bella was a little more assertive with putting her in her place, I probably would have laughed in Tanya's face. She would have deserved it. Tanya's always been persistent and refusing her advances, only led to more aggressive ones. That girl didn't understand the meaning of the word _no._ Anyone who denied her, just became more of a challenge.

When I thought back to my conversation with Charlotte at the restaurant, all I could do was shake my head at her absurd remarks.

* * *

" _Edward, I can't believe you're doing this to me...To us. I thought all you needed was a break and with me gone on vacation to Europe, that would have been enough. What changed your mind? I thought you loved me?" All Charlotte was doing, was pissing me off. I was ready to turn and walk away from her, but I needed to make myself clear._

 _I shook my head at her. "First of all, I'm not doing anything to you or us," I said, roiled with anger. "You've done nothing but manipulate me during our whole relationship. You always thought I had to be at your beck and call. You never let me have time with my friends or even my family. You even tried to convince me you were pregnant just so I'd stay with you. I tried with you, so when I told you I wanted time, I was wrong. I'm done with you. I've found someone else that's treating me with respect and she loves my family."_

 _I hoped what I was saying about Bella, was true, but I only hoped that one day she'd truly be with me._

" _You can't say that, I won't let you. I love you and I know you love me. Don't do this!" She demanded, reaching out to touch me, but I moved away from her. "I'm telling you, don't. We can still have a baby is you want to." She moved a little closer and ran her finger up my arm. "You were my first, Edward. Don't you remember how well we fit together when we made love? You always made me feel so good and we couldn't get enough of each other."_

" _Screw off, Charlotte," I hissed, through gritted teeth, gently pushing her away from me. "You don't get to control me like you tried to do before. Find someone else to be your little bitch."_

 _Apparently, my dad heard everything I just said because he made his appearance known as soon as the last word left my mouth. "Everything okay out here?"_

" _Yeah, Dad, I'm done. Bye Charlotte." I walked away, urging my Dad to follow me and he did._

 _Dad clapped me on the shoulder. "You okay, son?"_

" _Yeah, she's just...I'm just glad I ended things with her. She's still trying to control me even though it's over," I explained, walking through the door when he opened it._

* * *

After that night, I dreaded having to see Charlotte at school. I wasn't sure if she'd try anything, but considering it was the first day of school, so far so good.

"Hey, Cullen, what's with the smile?" My buddy Zack asked as I sat down in my seat next to him in our elective tech course.

"I'm in love," I said, smiling over at him.

He smiled back. "Um...weren't you just with that chick, Charlotte?"

"Yeah, last school year, but before school let out for summer, I broke up with her. She's a control freak. Watch out for her, man, she might head for you next," I teased. I knew Zack wouldn't go for her because he had been with his girlfriend Lynn since we were freshman, but who knew what Charlotte would do.

"Oh, screw that, she better not even look my way. Lynn would eat her for breakfast," he retorted, chuckling.

We were quiet for a few minutes, watching as the rest of the class came in. "So, who's the new girlfriend?"

"Her name's Bella. She moved here from Washington State a couple of months ago. Her step-dad and my dad are best-friends," I explained, smiling at the vision of her smiling face in my head.

He nodded. "That's cool, man. I hope things work out; you seem really happy."

"I am. She's like no other girl I've ever met," I said, feeling like a swooning fan-girl. I could do cartwheels down the halls if I could get away with it, but I was a guy and guys just don't do stuff like that.

When the bell rang for class to be over, I was the first to exit the room. I wasn't caring whether or not I was late to any of my classes today; every minute I was away from Bella, was another minute I craved her touch and her lips. I was whipped already and we hadn't even gotten to third base yet. I've felt her tit; that's about it. I was already a walking billboard for teenage hormones. I was never this horny with or around Charlotte. I could think of Bella and I'd pop wood.

After I met Bella, we made our way to the library.

When we first sat down at the table, I couldn't keep my hands or lips off of her, but she stopped all my fondling and we talked. The conversation we had, turned out to be the best one we've had yet. She wanted to be with me in every way eventually and in my head, I was doing the happy dance because I couldn't wait. I wouldn't push her to do anything she wasn't ready for. Heck, I was nervous myself, but thinking about us being together in that way _,_ only caused me to want time pushed forward faster. I was eager, but like I said, I wouldn't push her.

When school finally let out, I met Bella at her classroom. She looked a little smug about something and irritated at the same time. "What's wrong with you?"

"Jessica, that's what's wrong," she answered, reaching for my hand and leading us out of the school.

"What'd she do?" If she so much as threatened her in any way, she was going to hear a few choice words from me. _Why do I get all the crazies coming after me?_

Bella shook her head. Then she stopped and looked up at me. "You might get mad at me."

"I highly doubt that, so what happened?" She looked a little nervous to tell me, but I knew whatever was said or done, and if it involved Jessica, I'd probably laugh.

She sighed heavily. "I made a bet with her. A thousand dollar bet that we'd still be together in two months. She seems to think she's more suitable for you and suggested the bet, so I took her up on it because I knew we'd still be together after two months." She shrugged her shoulders. "Easy money."

I laughed. She honestly thought I'd be mad at her. "Where is she? I'll double that bet."

"You're not mad?" She looked confused, but I planted a wet sloppy kiss on her lips.

"Hell no. Maybe this will put her in her place and maybe she'll stop trying to think she has one over on you. She's right up there with Tanya thinking she's better than everyone else," I said, wrapping my arm around her waist as we walked to the parking lot.

When we approached the cars, we walked between them. I leaned against my truck and pulled her into me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me down to kiss me. I opened my legs and scooted down so that I was close to the same height as her. She stood between them, pressing her body against mine. I was quickly becoming hard and I knew she could feel it, but she never said anything.

Then she said something that made me deflate. "Jessica said something about you two dating."

I raised my brows at her and chuckled. "We've been on one date and even then I knew it wouldn't go anywhere."

"Good," she said then pressed her lips to mine.

We stood there making out like two horny teenagers until we heard a throat clear behind us. "You two, I swear. Is this what I have to look forward to all the time; you two swapping spit every chance you get?"

Bella and I pulled apart, smiling at each other. Then Bella turned around to look at my sister. "Yes, as a matter of fact, get used to it because your brother has the best lips and his..."

"Okay, okay, I don't wanna hear it," Alice said, putting her hands up in surrender. "Are we ready? You're coming to our house, right?"

"Sure, I can hang out for a bit. I've got homework already," Bella said, stepping away from me and pulling her keys from her backpack. She stepped back towards me and raised up on her tip-toes to kiss me. "I'll meet you at your house."

I climbed into my truck and palmed my dick when Bella pulled out of her parking spot. I rubbed myself a few times and sighed. I was gonna start losing brain cells soon if I kept getting hard without any relief. I was already rubbing one out every night before I went to bed and waking up, doing the same thing over again.

Hopefully, when the time comes when we finally have sex, it wouldn't be so awkward. And, I'm thankful that each of us have only ever been with one other person. I thought I was in love with Charlotte, but now that I think about it, I blame my hormones. They did the talking and as our relationship went from one month to the next, I started feeling controlled like her little puppet, so when her family decided to go to Europe for summer vacation, I knew that was my opening of the end of me and her. I'm grateful now that I had the courage to do it.

With Bella popping back into my head, I would like to do two things to Anthony. Thank him first for screwing up and then, if I could, beat the hell out of him, but I knew that would never happen. Vampires were way too strong and if I even tried to do anything, I'd be the one getting my ass beat or worse yet, killed. I couldn't do that to Bella. She had quickly become everything to me in such a short time. I just hope he never shows his face around here.

I pulled into the driveway, shortly after Bella and Alice. We headed directly into the kitchen for drinks and snacks. I wasn't sure what we were doing, but all I was concerned about, was being with my girl.

Tuesday came and it was another typical day. I decided to park further away from where I usually parked because I didn't want any more animosity from Tanya. She could take _her_ parking spot and shove it up her ass.

"Edward, are you not talking to me, now?" Charlotte asked as I passed her in the hall on my way into class.

I ignored her and continued on my way. "You'll regret this. Can you even tell me what she have that I don't?"

I turned toward her, seething at the fact that she was even talking to me. "Charlotte, I'm gonna ask you nicely. Leave. Me. Alone? I won't ask you again. We're not friends and we won't ever be...ever." I started walking away from her, but thought better of it when something else came to mind, turning back to her. "And as far as I'm concerned, I'm not regretting anything except the fact that I went out with you. I feel sorry for the next fool who gives you a chance. A little advice, stop being a controlling bitch and trying to run everyone's lives. If you try to talk to Bella or me, again, I'll go to the principal and tell him you're harassing us."

"You wouldn't," she said, unbelievably.

"Oh, yes, I would. Try me," I said, turning and walking away from her. I hoped she took what I said, to heart and left me alone and never started anything with Bella.

Class went pretty quickly, not without glares from Charlotte and a few of her friends. I didn't care, though. As long as I had my girl, my family and the few close friends I had, I'd be fine.

That night, before Bella went home, we had a little time to ourselves. We got a little carried away to the point I was nearly dry humping her against my truck. I wasn't sure how much longer I could last. _Is there such thing as spontaneous sexual combustion?_

That night after she left, I took the longest shower that I've ever taken. I couldn't seem to keep the image of Bella down on her knees, taking me in her mouth or her below me as I pushed inside of her. I could almost feel it as I pumped my hand up and down. My hips had a mind of their own as I sped up my movements. I kept imagining her moaning and screaming out each time I thrust into her; her body arching off the bed as she took every inch of me.

When that coil started building in my lower stomach, Bella was above me, riding me. Her tits were bouncing, lusciously, in my face; my hands on her hips, guiding her over me. I thrust up into her, hard and fast. She kept in tune with me and the rhythm we were keeping pace with, caused the feeling to build more intensely. As soon as she leaned back and placed her hands on my shins, her chest arched up into the air. My fantasy of this happening, was causing my hand to move at top speed before I came all over my shower floor.

I leaned my forehead against it, catching my breath. I couldn't believe how graphic my imagination was becoming. They were my utmost desires and fantasies that I hoped that one day, would come true. Not once did I have thoughts like this about Charlotte.

Bella called me before I switched off my lamp and got comfortable. I had my phone in my hand looking at the picture I had saved as my background. It was of Bella and she had the most beautiful smile. My heart felt funny every time I looked at her. I love her so much.

"I can't stop thinking about you," I tell her as we quietly talk to each other.

" _You make me so happy,"_ she tells me. _"And I can't stop thinking about you, too."_

I hummed into the phone. "Do you have plans this weekend?"

" _Yes. I'm not sure if you know or not, but I have a boyfriend and he occupies my time a lot on the weekends."_

I chuckled. "Oh, really? He can't spare an hour of your time so you can come see me?"

" _If you knew how much I really care about this guy, then you'd understand. He's become my everything. I can't wait to see him and I always wonder if he's thinking about me as much as I think of him. I want him to be in my life forever."_

I was about to cross a line I wasn't sure I should cross, but I felt like I needed to. "It sounds to me like you're in love with this guy."

I heard her sigh. _"I am,"_ She admitted _. "I haven't told him yet because I'm afraid it's too soon. Do you think you can fall in love with someone just after a month of knowing them?"_

"Yes," I answered truthfully. "How do you know he doesn't feel the same way?"

" _I don't know, but if I tell him and he doesn't say it back, how am I supposed to react? I'd feel stupid."_

I took a deep breath. "Don't feel stupid because I'm positive he feels the same way about you. How could he not? You're beautiful, and funny. You're never bored with each other and you always have something to talk about. So, yeah, I'm sure he feels the same way."

" _I hope so, 'cause I think I'm gonna tell him this weekend."_

I was pretty sure my heart just skipped a beat. I needed to end our call before I burst at the seams and say it first; I should say it first. "All right, sleepy head. I'm getting pretty tired, so I'm gonna hop off here and get to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

" _Okay. I'll see you in the morning. Sweet dreams."_ I could hear the smile in her voice.

"Sweet dreams, baby. Goodnight."

* * *

 **Not as long as the others, so I'll give you this one and one more update tonight.**

 **See you soon.**

 **RTB**


	15. Chapter 15

**Here's the second update. There will be more tomorrow. It's my birthday weekend with no plans, so GD will be my fun for the weekend. "50" has to wait until Monday for my actual birthday.**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns all the characters.**

 **2/8/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 15**

 **BPOV**

* * *

My conversation with Edward the night before was quite an eye opener. I was surprised I admitted that I loved him. I was sure he knew I was talking about him. How could he not?

As soon as Alice and I arrived at school, he came running toward me, capturing me in his arms and spinning me around. What came out of his mouth made my day the best ever. "I love you. I've loved you since that night you punched me."

I gave him the biggest smile ever. "I love you, too."

After that day, we make sure we tell each other as much as we can.

My mom had made an appointment for me on the following Wednesday so I could get put on birth control. I was going first thing in the morning and missing the first part of school.

Edward pouted when I told him. I also didn't tell him what the appointment was for. I didn't want to get his hormones in an uproar over the prospect of us sleeping together anytime in the near future. We were still new in our relationship and I was still working on the _being ready,_ part. I was more than ready to jump his bones, but I didn't want our relationship to be solely based on sex.

I was currently sitting and waiting for the doctor to re-enter the room after I got dressed. She walked back in a few minutes later, carrying some pamphlets. "Okay, Isabella, now that we've gotten the uncomfortable part over with, I have a couple of choices for you to choose from." She handed me the pamphlets. "As you can see, you have a pill and the Medroxyrogestrone Injection."

I scanned over the pamphlets, paying more attention to the one with the long ass name. "What's this one?"

"That's Medroxyrogestrone; also known as Depro Privera or the shot," she explained.

"What's the effectiveness of both?

She reached for the pamphlets and opened each of them, pointing out their percentage of effectiveness. "As you can see, the shot is 99% effective, whereas the pill is 99.9% only if taken properly. The shot, on the other hand, is administered every twelve to fourteen weeks. If you're forgetful, the shot should be your choice."

I retrieved the pamphlets and started reading over the side effects between the two. The shot seemed to have more and the pill had a higher effectiveness. It may only be .9% higher, but it was still more. "I think I'll give the pill a chance. I'm pretty good with remembering and I could always set an alarm on my phone."

"Okay, I'll get you a prescription written up and you can be on your way. Just make sure that once you start taking them and if you start having any major side effects, you call the office immediately." She stood from her chair and reached out to shake my hand. "It was great meeting you. Your mom talks about you a lot when she's here."

"It was great meeting you, too. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice," I said, hopping down from the examination table.

She smiled at me. "We aim to please. I'll see you in six months for a check-up to make sure everything's going smoothly."

On my way out, I paid my co-pay and got a note for school to excuse my tardiness. When I arrived, and Edward saw me, you'd think I left for another part of the country months ago and just got back.

The rest of the week went smoothly. Edward and I were inseparable and Jessica hated it. I found it comical, on the other hand. What made it worse was when Edward approached her and said he'd double the bet. She stormed away from us like we had the plague.

Friday rolled around and it was our weekend for shopping and getting ready for the bonfire the next weekend. Again, Edward and I spent as much time together, as we could, but I had dedicated this weekend for just the girls.

So, Friday after school, Edward followed me home. He wanted as much time with me as he could get before I was whisked away.

"I think I'm gonna sneak through your bedroom window tonight. I'll barely see you all weekend." We were in the living room with the TV on, but we really weren't watching it.

My mom and Phil weren't home yet and wouldn't be for a while. They were out for their weekly date night. "I'm not so sure about that."

"Why not?" Edward pushed me back onto the couch and settled himself between my legs. "C'mon, please?"

"Silly boy. I'm sure you could find something to keep yourself busy this weekend." Edward was kissing and lightly sucking all over my neck. He would occasionally dip down to kiss and lick along my collarbone and the top part of my breast.

He was trying to work me up; it was working, but I wasn't so sure how far I was willing to let things go.

I felt him thrust forward, feeling how much he wanted me at that particular moment. "I don't want to," he mumbled into my chest then gave my skin a nice suck.

All conversation ceased when he thrust forward again. I felt him right where my body wanted him. I moaned. "You like that?"

We were getting more and more brave with each other and speaking what we thought. "Yes," I whispered, giving him a small nod.

He propped himself up on his elbows and looked down at me. He slowly thrust into me a few more times before capturing my lips with his.

As he continued his movements, one of his hands began to trail soft touches down my arm until he reached my hand. He linked our fingers together and brought my arm above my head. "You feel so good," he whispered against my lips.

He released my hand, slowly moving down my arm until he reached my left breast, cupping it and giving it a light squeeze.

We moaned in unison.

I felt my nipples harden further at his touch. We were getting too carried away, but I wasn't caring at that moment.

He started easing his hand under the hem of my shirt. "Can I?" I gave him a slight nod, answering him.

As we continued to kiss and him grope me, my shirt found its way up and my cloth covered breasts were exposed. He growled when he opened his eyes to see my cherry red, lacy bra.

I repeated his earlier words. "You like?"

"Like is the wrong word. More like love. I love you; all of you."

I was stunned completely silent every time I heard those words fall from his mouth. Tears immediately started flowing, not knowing why I still reacted this way.

Edward reached up and wiped my tears away. "Hey, why the tears? I love you more than just your tits. Heck, you still have your bra on." He tried joking with me to lighten the mood.

"Can we sit up?" Edward moved so I could sit up. I turned to face him. "I'm sorry. These are happy tears. I don't know..."

Edward placed a finger over my lips. "You don't have to say anything. I know you love me and it still takes you by surprise when I say it, and you tell me enough."

I nodded. " I do love you more than you know, but it's just overwhelming because I know it's real." More tears started falling. I wiped them away vigorously. "You make me feel it in the way you're around me. The way you touch me, all of it. I love you, so much."

Edward pulled me into his arms, placing a kiss on top of my head. "I know you do, and I love you more than anything."

I pulled back from our embrace, looking up at him. I, all of a sudden, felt a wave of embarrassment wash over me, so I turned, facing forward on the couch. Why I felt that way, I didn't know. Maybe it was because at that particular moment, I wanted to attack him and rip his clothes off.

"Nope, not gonna happen." Edward grabbed my legs and pulled me onto his lap so I was straddling him. He then grabbed my face between his hands. "What's the matter?" I tried to shake my head to indicate that nothing was wrong, but he wasn't having it. "Tell me."

I sighed and gave him a small smile. "It's stupid."

"No it's not; whatever it is. Nothing you say to me is stupid. Now, tell me," he demanded. "Please?"

"I wanted to attack you. I wanted to tear every piece of clothing off of you and..and...," I whispered, feeling my face begin to heat up from my embarrassed confession.

He chuckled at me. "Well, that can be arranged; just say when." He pressed his lips to mine and I couldn't help wrapping my arms around his neck and grinding myself against him.

Just as soon as we started getting hot and heavy, again, we heard my mom call for me. "Shit! I didn't think they'd be back so soon."

I hopped up off his lap, pulled my shirt back down and plopped on the couch with my feet laying over his lap so I could hide his erection. I grabbed the remote and turned the volume up just a little. "In here!" I yelled out to her.

A minute later, my mom and Phil came walking into the room. "Hey, you two."

"Hey," Edward and I said.

"I thought you were goin' out?" I queried, scooting up further on the couch to lean against the arm.

Phil walked over to the racks full of DVD's. "We just grabbed something to eat. We've both had a long day."

I knew that tone. They were back home early so they could get to work on the baby making business.

"We're just gonna head up to our room and watch a movie. We didn't mean to interrupt," mom said as she walked over to me and placed a kiss on my forehead. She did the same to Edward. "I don't care how late you stay, bud, but remember, Bella's all ours this weekend."

Edward chuckled. "I remember. I might survive one weekend without her."

Phil grabbed the movie he was looking for and started heading for the door. "Night, you two."

"Night," we called out. I could see the enthusiasm in my mom as she skipped toward the stars.

Edward let out a throaty chuckle. "That was enlightening."

"Tell me about it." Then I remembered I didn't tell him about them trying for a baby. "Oh, shit," I sat up and scooted closer to him. "I forgot to tell you, they're trying to get pregnant."

"Oh, wow. That's pretty cool, but isn't your mom a little too old for that?"

I smacked him on the arm. "Hey, she's only thirty-three. Plenty young enough."

"Sorry." Before I knew what was happening, I was being pushed back onto the couch, with Edward hovering over me. "Now, where were we?"

Edward left around midnight. We were getting too carried away, for our own good. We only got as far as him lifting my shirt again, but this time, the cups to my bra, were pulled to the side while he devoured my nipples.

I never thought you could be brought to orgasm with nipple play alone, and Edward had quite the sticky situation when he left.

The next morning came way too early for my own liking. Mom came barging in around nine, chanting over and over. "Get up, get up, get up. C'mon sleepy head, plenty of stuff to be bought today."

"Too early," I grumbled as I rolled over to my back. "Five more minutes, please?"

Mom chuckled at me. "Not a chance. If you want to see Edward at all, sometime today, you'll get up."

I sat up, rolling my eyes because if there was any chance at all to see my man today, I'd let them drag me to hell and back. "Fine, I'm up. Can I, at least, shower first?"

"Yes," she said as she pulled my curtains open. When she turned to look at me, her eyes went wide. "Good God. That boy is gonna be the death of me."

"What?"

"You'll see when you look in the mirror. You may wanna wear your hair down today," she suggested before heading for the door. "I'll go make you a quick breakfast."

I stumbled out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. When I turned the light on, my eyes damn near bugged out of my head. I couldn't help but scream. "EDWARD CULLEN!" Like he could hear me.

Sleeping or not, he'd be getting an ear full before my shower.

I ran to my bedside table, grabbed my phone and found his number as fast as I could.

" _Hi, baby,"_ he said, groggily.

"Edward Cullen, I should kick your ass," I stated, firmly.

" _What'd I do?"_ he asked innocently.

I huffed into the phone. "You know exactly what you did. You marked me, again!"

" _I'm sorry. I didn't mean to; I love you,"_ he pleaded.

I couldn't stay mad at him. "I love you, too, but I look like a floozy now."

" _You're my floozy; it shows that you're taken,"_ he defended.

"No more on the neck, please. I just hope it's gone by Monday. I don't wanna deal with everyone staring at me," I said, whining a little. I kind of liked the hickeys, but I didn't want to tell him that and I preferred them to be somewhere else.

He chuckled. _"Let them stare all they want."_

"Edward," I sighed. "Never mind. I need to get into the shower before my mom comes looking for me. She might release me on good behavior so I could see you later. You wanna see me later, don't you?"

" _Absolutely. Call me when you get a chance. Go shower; I love you,"_ he replied and I smiled.

"I love you, too. Bye, Edward."

" _Bye, baby."_

After our call ended, I headed back to the bathroom. When I undressed, I shook my head. "Edward Anthony Cullen," I whispered to myself in the mirror.

There were four huge hickey's across my chest. One on each boob, at the top, and two on my chest. Silly boy was definitely a boob man.

I showered, dressed and made my way downstairs. Mom and Phil were sitting at the table when I walked in. I heard them whispering back and forth. Then, I could feel them looking at me while I pulled the juice from the fridge. "I can feel you two staring at me."

I heard them snicker. "How's Edward?" Phil asked as I made my way over to the table.

I scowled at both of them. "He's fine."

Mom kept glancing at me over her coffee cup. I could see that she was smiling. I knew I was about to get teased about the hickeys on my neck.

"It sucks to be you, today," Phil stated as he shoveled a bite of omelet into his mouth.

"Why's that?"

"Shopping sucks, that's all," he paused for a second, looking over at my mom, "Renee, remind me to check the barracuda in the pool today. It doesn't seem to be sucking strong enough."

I knew what he was doing. I was already embarrassed from his over usage of the word – _suck._

"Maybe you could have Edward look at it," mom suggested.

"I don't know. He might suck at it." Phil glanced over at me. "What do you think, Bella? Does Edward...suuuuck..." He stressed the word. "...at pool repair?"

I was completely flame red by now. "Mom, you told him?"

I knew she did. There was no denying it one bit. "Mwah?" She asked innocently as she touched her chest.

Phil reached over and moved my hair away from my neck before I could get away. "Holy Shit! I'd say that boy sucks."

I smacked his hand away. "Cut it out. Like you two didn't hurry home last night to get it on. I'm not ten anymore. I know what it takes to make a baby."

"Well, just make sure Edward conceals the evidence from now on. Outta sight, outta mind." Phil was playing his dad card on me this morning, but I didn't mind. It wasn't often I needed reprimanded.

"I've already bitched at him about it. He was just staking his claim on me because we'll barely see each other this weekend," I explained before reaching over and grabbing one of the croissants my mom had set out.

Mom giggled. "Young love. I'm just glad to see you two getting along. I thought, at first, we'd have to endure World War Three."

"Definitely no World War Three, between them two; that's obvious," Phil retorted. He cleared his plate of his food and stood from the table. "I'm outta here, ladies. I'm heading over to the stadium to meet Carlisle and the rest of the team. We've gotta get a practice schedule set up before the season begins."

"Okay, I don't know when we'll be home, so plan on getting some lunch and maybe dinner, while you're out," mom said, getting up from the table and walking over to Phil. He pulled her into a hug and started planting kisses all over her face. "Maybe you should mark me like Edward did Bella."

I knew she was only joking. "Mom, please," I pleaded. "I'm a teenager; it's a given."

Phil dipped my mom over and she squealed. "Oh, God. Please take that somewhere else. Hello! Teenage daughter in the room."

My phone chirped, signaling a text message. My mom looked over at me. "Betcha it's Edward. That boy is so smitten with you."

I shook my head and pulled my phone out of my pocket.

 _The first of many texts of the day. I already miss you like crazy. I love you. Can't say it enough. X E_

I smiled the cheesiest grin, ever. My heart was doing a little butterfly dance as I thought about what to say back.

 _I love you, too. And please don't get mad if I don't respond right away. X B_

He responded immediately. His fingers must have been moving a mile a minute.

 _I won't. Promise. Have fun. Love you. Xx E_

I shoved my phone back into my pocket when I stood from the table. "Are we picking Esme and Alice up or meeting them?"

"We're meeting them," mom replied. She gave Phil one last kiss before he waved over his shoulder at me.

"Can we take my car? If we end up driving to umpteen million places, me and Alice can ride together and you ride with Esme," I suggested. I wanted to have some alone time with my friend, if possible.

She nodded. "Sure. And we will be going to umpteen million places, as you say."

"Thanks for the warning. Are you ready?"

"Yup, are you?" She asked in return.

I nodded. "Yeah. Let's get this over with."

I had my credit card, but I was hoping to sneak off with Alice to Victoria Secret so I could get some new panties and bra sets. If Edward and I were starting to move our relationship further...need I say more?

* * *

 **I try to stick some humor in here and there. I'd love to add more, but I suck at coming up with funny stuff on the spot.**

 **I'll see y'all tomorrow.**

 **RTB**


	16. Chapter 16

**I'm home today. I had broken my leg and surgery about a week and a half before Thanksgiving and I'm still having issues with it. Today, it's hurting and I can barely walk on it. I still have to wear a boot for another two weeks. I hate it, but who loves to wear something that bulky?**

 **So, let's go shopping.**

 ******There's a little foreplay going on in this chapter******

 **No copy right infringement intended. SM owns all characters.**

 **2/9/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 16**

 **BPOV**

* * *

When we left to meet Alice and Esme, our meeting place was the party supply store. We spent close to two hours trying to figure out which colors would be best. They ended up agreeing on something neutral. I wasn't even sure why colored supplies even mattered. It was a party outside on the beach for goodness sakes.

Four hours later, four new text messages from Edward and about eight different stores. No, I'm not exaggerating; our moms were being shopping fanatics; we were finally stopping for lunch.

Alice and I had gib-gabbed about anything and everything. Her new topic of conversation was Jasper Whitlock...Edward's new teammate.

Apparently, she'd caught sight of him at school and instantly fell in love. "He's the one," she had said as we grabbed our trays of food at the food court in the mall.

"I can see that. Have you even talked to him, yet?" I asked, feeling like a horrible friend because I've been so caught up with my relationship with Edward, that I didn't notice her swooning.

She sighed and lowered her head, looking down at the table. "No. I'm too chicken. I'm afraid I might make a fool outta myself and say something really revolting."

"Well," I started, smacking my hands together to get her attention. "That's gonna change. You'll go with me to Edward's practice and when it's over, we'll introduce ourselves. How's that sound?"

"You're really gonna make me do this, aren't you?"

I smiled over at her. "Absolutely. I've finally found a happy place in my life, with your brother. It's your turn; you deserve it, too."

After lunch, we were able to sneak off. We agreed to meet up with our moms an hour later.

We headed straight to Victoria Secret. I wanted a few underwear and bra sets, and who knows, maybe Alice would buy some, too.

Alice's eyes grew wide when she noticed where we were headed. "You're gettin' something for my brother, aren't you?"

I snickered at her. "That's for me to know and him to find out."

"So, are you two doin' it, yet?" She raised her eyebrows at me, waiting for an answer.

"Um...no. I'm not ready. One minute I think I'm gonna rip his clothes off and then the next, I clam up and stop what we're doing," I confirmed, simply.

She nodded. "I see, so what's with the huge hickey on your neck." My eyes popped out of my head. "Don't think I didn't notice. That suckers big enough to be seen across the mall."

"Crap. I thought my hair would keep it covered up. He sucked them all over my chest, too; Damn Dyson Vacuum," I muttered. I felt a little embarrassed, but it was only Alice I was talking to and she was my best-friend. It still felt a little odd, though, talking to her about stuff like this, considering Edward is her brother, after all.

Alice giggled at me. "Dyson Vacuum, that's funny. I guess hoovers don't suck good enough anymore."

"Nope. You've seen those commercials where the Dyson is sucking up a bowling ball. I feel like your brothers...I don't know what. And then he acted all innocent when I called him this morning."

"He's far from innocent," Alice retorted.

We shared our girly giggles and set out to complete my task, which turned out beneficial for both of us. Alice ended up buying a few things for herself, also.

We met up with our moms an hour later and made our way out to the cars. We were pretty much done for the day. All we needed to do was get everything unloaded and into their pool house, where they were storing everything until the bonfire.

"All done. All that's left is the grills and food. They'll get here about two on Saturday in time so we can start setting everything up. Carlisle's supposed to be getting all the coolers and ice," Esme explained as we made our way back into the house.

As soon as we walked in, Edward came barreling through the front door and straight to me. He picked me up into a huge bear hug. "God, I missed you."

We heard someone clear their throat. "Why, hello to you, too. You can't say hello to your own mother?"

Edward kissed me before placing my feet back on the floor. "Sorry mom. Hi, mom." He walked over, hugged her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Hi, Renee." He kissed her cheek, too and I honestly think she blushed.

"Where've you been?" Esme asked Edward as we all started walking toward the front door.

"I was at the stadium with Dad and Phil," he explained, reaching out to take my hand.

"Ah," Esme said. "By the way, son, take it easy on poor Bella's neck. She looks like a vampire attacked her." I flinched at her words. I knew my mom didn't know anything about the whole supernatural beings walking the planet, but it was still odd to me to say something like that in front of her.

My mom giggled. "Just like a Dyson vacuum, that boy."

Alice busted out laughing. "That's exactly what Bella said." She walked over to Edward, patting him on his shoulder. "I think you have a new nickname now, Dyson."

Edwards face turned bright red, but I could see the telltale sign of a smile on his face. It was a proud smile, nonetheless.

"Mom, you mind driving my car home? Edward can drive me later." After a couple of minutes more of teasing Edward and his sucking capabilities, my mom was bidding everyone their goodbyes.

"Sure; be home by midnight." I handed her my keys. "Behave," she whispered into my ear as she hugged me.

"I will; love you."

There was still a few hours of sunlight left, so we decided to lounge down by the beach. Alice loaned me one of her swimsuits so we could get in the water.

We laid around and were busy tag-teaming a crossword puzzle while Edward laid next to me with his arm draped over my stomach. I could tell he had fallen asleep.

"A six letter word that an umpire calls during a baseball game?" I asked unknowingly because I didn't know all the baseball lingo like Alice and Edward did.

"Strike," Edward mumbled into his arm.

I reached down and ran my fingers through his hair. "I thought you were sleeping." Alice grabbed the crossword from me and wrote in the answer.

"I was," he rolled over. "...until now. Wanna go for a swim? It's fuckin' hot as hell out here."

"Sure," I turned to Alice. "You wanna come?"

"Nah, you two lovebirds go ahead. I'm gonna finish this." She pointed to the crossword.

Edward and I walked hand in hand, down to the water. When we reached the edge, he scooped me up bridal style and teased me about throwing me in. "You throw me in and no boobs for you."

"Damn; you drive a hard bargain." He relented and walked in instead. He waded around for a minute before he put me down. We dunked under the water to cool off.

I stood still while Edward swam back and forth a few times. On his fourth trip back, he dove under and came up right in front of me, smiling like a loon. He reached up and dipped a finger into one of the cups of the bikini top I was wearing. He was being pretty brave with all the people that graced the beach and swam nearby.

I glanced around to see if anyone was watching us. "Edward, someone could see."

He moved his hand and instead picked me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. "You're close enough that no one can see, now."

"I'm not taking my top off." I didn't know what he was thinking, but I sure as hell wasn't about to get arrested for indecent exposure.

He chuckled at me. "That's not what I meant. You could kinda, sorta move that little piece of fabric to the side so I could see one of those luscious tits of yours."

Of course I complied and reached down, looking around to make sure no one was watching as I moved the fabric over far enough to release my nipple. They were hard as rocks.

I was perched far enough up his body, so he tilted his head downward and sucked my nipple into his mouth. He groaned. "God, I love your tits." He pulled back enough to look at my chest. "I love these, too." He ran a finger over the hickeys that were on full display for everyone to see. It was obvious he loved them.

I had forgotten all about them until I changed into the bikini. I wasn't caring anymore, who saw.

"Yeah, well, you should've seen your sisters face when I walked out of the bathroom. I thought her eyes were gonna pop outta her head."

I pulled Edward's head toward me so that I could kiss him; wrapping my legs tighter around him. I felt him snake his hands around my waist and down to my ass where he gave both my butt cheeks a firm squeeze.

"I love this, too." He eased on hand further down, slipping a finger inside my suit bottoms. "...and I know I'll love this." He didn't move his finger too far, just enough to barely graze my opening.

My eyes rolled into the back of my head. Edward hadn't ventured that far south on my body until now and all I wanted him to do, was move his finger further up so that I could feel it better.

I pivoted my hips a little to see if he would get the hint. I leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "Touch me."

Just from his small touch, I was in flames, wanting the friction. "You sure?"

I nodded my head. "Mmhmm...can I touch you, too?"

"I thought you'd never ask and from now on, you can touch me anytime you want," he simply said, pressing his lips to mine as he moved his right hand between us and slipped into the front part of my bottoms. The water was up to our chests, so no one could see what was going on. Thank goodness the water was calm enough that it wasn't slamming us all over the place.

I felt him twist his hand so his palm was pressed against my clit.

My breath hitched when he slowly pushed a finger inside of me. I could have passed out from the sensation that coursed through me. "Oh, sweet Jesus."

"You could say that, again." He began, slowly, pushing his finger, in and out of me. "Fuck," he whispered in my ear. "I'm so fuckin' hard, right now."

We captured each other's lips as he sped up his movements. I knew when that tingling sensation started to build, I wouldn't last long, but the feeling felt more intense than what I've experienced before. When he hit that certain spot, up inside of me, I started whimpering. "Right there. I'm so close."

He adjusted his hand, adding another finger and with one firm press to that sweet spot...I came.

I dropped my head to his shoulder. "Good God, you'll kill me when we start having sex."

"Maybe we should never have sex. I plan on keeping you around for the rest of my life. You ruined me for anyone else that first night we kissed," he said and I knew exactly what he meant. I was ruined, too.

I unwrapped my legs from around him, again, keeping my arms around his neck. He leaned his head down to kiss me as I released my arms, smoothing them down his perfectly tanned chest.

As I moved my hands further down, I felt his stomach muscles tighten when I reached the edge of his swim trunks. He knew what I was aiming for.

We were keeping our eyes locked on each other until he felt me push my hand into his trunks. His eyes closed when I wrapped my fingers around his hardness.

I used my other hand to push the edge of his trunks down, pulling him out so I could get a better grip; I wanted him completely out.

He was big but not huge and, definitely not small. I could kick my own ass at that moment for even comparing his size to Anthony's. That was just plain wrong. I guess I won't know until we finally have sex. I don't think I can last much longer.

I gripped his erection again, once his trunks were far enough down as Edward rubbed his thumbs across both of my breasts.

I began to stroke him from base to tip, his head lolling back when I squeezed to give a little pressure. He reached down to show me he wanted a firmer grip.

When I complied, Edward began thrusting into my hand as I stroked him up and down. "Oh, fuck. This is gonna be quick," he mumbled.

Our breathing was labored as we worked together to bring his orgasm to the surface.

His face began to contort, groaning as I felt his cock begin to pulse in my hand.

I continued to pump him, but slowed my movements as he came down from his orgasm. "I think I might pass out."

"Why?" I asked innocently. I had felt the same way moments before when he brought me to my own release.

"You've completely ruined me. I can't even imagine jacking my own shit anymore. It won't be the same." He growled at me.

I playfully smacked his chest. "You're so silly. I'm sure your hand still works just fine."

Edward bent over, slightly, to pull his trunks up. All of a sudden he had me wrapped in his arms. He placed a kiss on my neck. "Yours are much better, though."

We waded around in the water for a little while longer. I forgot to tell him about my birth control. I wouldn't start until the following Monday, I hoped, but I was feeling obligated to share the information with him.

So, I took a deep breath, kissed his neck and began. "Remember when I was late for school the other day?"

"Of course. You never did tell me why, though," he replied, giving me a weary look.

I gave him a slight smile. "I had a doctor's appointment."

"Yeah?" I nodded. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, more than okay. I went in for an exam to be put on birth control," I said, shyly.

His smile was blinding. "And when is this said birth control taking effect?"

"Well," I slowly said. "I can't start taking it until my period starts, which should be Monday, by the way. So, after taking it for seven days, it would be at its full effectiveness."

I was sure his curiosity about the birth control wasn't over, so I waited. I knew he had a million things running through his head about us finally having sex. My body kept telling me I was ready and truthfully, my heart was following its lead.

He leaned his head down and placed his lips on my neck, kissing it until I felt him suck my skin into his mouth. I wanted to pull away, but my body was protesting. When I felt him begin to suck, I jerked my head away. "Hey, aren't I marked enough?"

"Not from my perspective," he retorted snidely.

"You're definitely a horny, Dyson," I remarked, wrapping my arms around his neck.

I was considering sucking a huge hickey on his neck just to get back at him, and I'd be sure to do it soon.

Edward started walking toward the shore, carrying me. "You're starting to burn."

"I like where I'm at, right now," I said, whining a little.

"I do, too, but I don't want you getting too burnt. You'll be whining about it later, if you do," he simply stated, giving my ass cheeks a squeeze.

I retaliated by latching my lips to his neck and sucked. I didn't do it too hard. "I have other places you can suck too, and you can mark me all you want. I thin I'll like having your mark on me."

I released my suction on his neck and sure enough, there was a mark, but nowhere near as dark as the ones he left on me. "I'll keep that in mind."

We made it to the shore while he was still carrying me. "You can put me down, now."

"I will when we get to our spot," he said, giving my ass another squeeze. This time, his actions were in full view.

When we walked up, Alice was shaking her head at us. "Tsk, tsk, you naughty, naughty people."

Edward smiled widely and I pretended I didn't hear her reprimand. Alice wasn't done, though. "I know if I saw you two, other people did, too."

"Alice?" My eyes were wide with curiosity about what she saw. "What'd you see?"

"Who cares what she saw," Edward said when he laid down on the oversized beach towel, by my feet.

"I do. There could've been someone from school out here," I complained as I sat down next to him. He immediately wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me over to him. "How the hell could this not bother you?"

Alice giggled. "Oh, Bella, it's not a big deal. I'm just teasing and your guilty conscience is giving you away."

"Alice Cullen!"

"Yeessss..." she sing-songed and laughed at me. "You're so gullible."

I huffed and sat up, grabbing the sunscreen. "Here, since you said I was burning." I shoved the bottle into Edward's chest. "You can rub it on me."

Once Edward started lathering the sunscreen on, I looked up and saw Evan jogging towards us. I had officially met him a couple of times over the last few weeks. He reminded me a lot of Emmett even though he had the same hair and eye color as Edward, but was huge and cuddly looking, like Emmett.

I didn't think much of the _Masons_ , anymore, but every once in a while, a memory would get triggered. They were brief, but they were there.

"Hey, you three, mom said...Holy shit, Bella! You lose a fight with a Dyson vacuum cleaner?"

Alice let out a boisterous laugh. "That's Edward's new nickname."

I turned to look at Edward because I heard him snicker. "You're just so proud of yourself, aren't you?"

"Well..." he shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say?"

Evan laughed and shook his head. "You guys are too much. C'mon Dyson, mom wanted me to tell you guys that dinner will be ready in thirty minutes."

* * *

 **I apologize about an earlier update where I said there wasn't an Escala in Seattle. Oh, there is. I was informed by a very nice lady that the condos exist. My sister doesn't know much about the books or the movies and when I asked, she told me there wasn't such a thing. I should've just used Google; I use it for everything else. So now, I'm in search of a tour. We shall see.**

 **See y'all later.**

 **RTB**


	17. Chapter 17

******A little fluff going on in this chapter.******

 **No copy right infringement intended. SM owns all characters and I own all mistakes.**

 **2/9/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 17**

 **BPOV**

* * *

After dinner that night, Edward and I decided to head out for a little while before he needed to take me home.

There wasn't anything we really wanted to do, so he found a pretty secluded area of the beach and parked. There were a few other cars in the lot, but he parked as far away as he could. "No wandering eyes," he said seductively.

Edward grabbed a blanket from behind his seat and reached for his door handle. "Stay there for a minute."

I watched as he ran around the back of his truck and climbed in. He spread the blanket out then jumped out on my side to open my door. "Me lady." He did a little bow and extended his hand out toward me.

"Such a gentleman," I said, smiling. I put my hand in his while he helped me out.

He led me around to the back and motioned for me to climb up. Once I was in the back, he climbed up next me and sat down. I noticed the blanket was spread out over a mat. "You think of everything."

"Oh, this," he patted the mat. "...it's to keep my gear from sliding all over the place when it's back here."

"Ah," I nodded and scooted closer to him.

He laid down and looked up at me. "I love it out here at night when it's not so hot and you can see so much of the sky. The stars are actually pretty bright even though we're really close to the city."

"It's quiet, too," I said, laying down next to him; my head was laying on his stomach.

He ran his fingers through my hair until I felt him move, placing a kiss on the top of my head. "I know it's still a couple of weeks away, but I wanna do something nice for your birthday. Is there anything you want?"

I maneuvered around so that I could look up at him. "Just you; that's all I want."

"You already have me," he said, moving his head closer to mine to kiss me.

I pulled back to look at him. "Surprise me, then."

He wrapped both his arms around me to pull me closer. I draped a leg over his middle to get comfortable. We laid quietly, staring at each other for a few minutes before Edward moved one of his hands to the base of my neck, lacing his fingers through my hair. Our breathing grew heavy as we looked into each other's eyes. He whispered. "I love you," before he brought his lips to mine.

I whimpered when he eased his tongue into my mouth. We were so desperate for each other, our hands starting to wonder.

I moved my free hand up to his chest and snaked it around his neck, pulling him with desperate need. I pulled back and whispered to him. "Oh, God, I love you, too. More than I ever thought I could."

We mashed our mouths together, again. I wanted him so badly, but there wasn't a chance in hell I'd allow us to give up our first time in the back of his truck. Especially in the parking lot by the beach. I needed my birth control to be effective before we ventured that far.

Edward rolled me to my back and settled between my legs. I pulled my knees up, clamping them against his waist. "I want you, so bad, right now."

The seriousness in his tone was invigorating. Goosebumps riddled my entire body.

I let out a shuddering breath. "I want you, too, but not in the truck."

"I know," he whispered, thrusting into me, giving me proof of his want.

I moved a hand from around his neck and palmed his cheek. I locked eyes with him. "Soon; I promise, but that doesn't mean we can't do other stuff until then."

Edward smiled and thrust against me again, causing me to release a shuddering breath. "Thanks for today."

"What for?"

"For being you; for everything, but mainly for letting me feel you and loving me in return," he explained.

I smiled up at him. "I do love you. It was unexpected and some would say that I'm just a naïve sixteen year old with a huge crush, but I'm not. You make my heart race when I'm near you and especially when we touch each other. I love you and know it's true because I've never had this feeling before. I thought I was in love with Anthony, but now I know that the love I felt for him, wasn't unconditional much like the way I feel about you. Seven weeks of you being in my life, helped me open my eyes and finally see the bigger picture. I'm embracing love the way I should and be loved the way I'm meant to be. I've dreamed of being loved this way since I started imagining what true love's all about. You did that for me."

I knew I was blabbing because I was nervous, but I needed to say how I really felt, and it was now Edward's turn to release a shuddering breath. I could see unshed tears glistening in the corner of his eyes. "You said it all; everything I feel and hoped for. I don't need to repeat anything you said because I feel the same way. Thank you for seeing me as me and not someone that left you broken and afraid to love again. I'm not going anywhere and when you're ready, I wanna make love to you and show you just how much I really do love you."

"I want that, too." I pulled his head down to kiss him. Edward began thrusting into me, causing the perfect amount of friction where I needed it. He littered my neck and chest with licks, kisses and sucks as he continued pressing into me. We were only dry humping, but the feelings that were running through my body, was phenomenal.

I whispered to him. "You're gonna make me cum, like this, again."

He grunted as he pushed against me over and over until I held my breath. My orgasm took over, ripping through me like a hot and cold flash slammed together and washed over me. My body tingled and pulsed continuously.

Edward stilled as he groaned through his release. I knew he was in a huge, sticky situation, but I'd do it all over again, in a heartbeat.

We were both pretty sweaty due to the humidity outside and our heavy, clothed, workout, so Edward rolled off the top of me, taking deep, long breaths. He draped an arm over his eyes while we both laid there.

I sat up and looked over at him as I reached up and ran my thumb over this bottom lip, repeating my earlier promise. "Soon."

Edward moved his arm and looked up at me. "I don't care how eager I sound, but I can't wait. I hate cumming in my pants. That makes the third time that's happened; I'm just glad I do my own laundry so I don't have to get weird looks from my mom."

I giggled at him. "I'd say so." I poked him on his, now, flaccid dick.

"Woman!" Edward reprimanded, grabbing my wrist and pulling me down on top of him. "I'm not cumming in my pants, again. From now on, no clothes or something else, but not this again."

"Is that a promise?"

"Let's find out tomorrow because right now, I need to get you home before I don't have any balls left to cum," he said as he moved to get up. "This is fuckin' disgusting." He grumbled some more, standing up. "C'mon, I don't want you getting grounded because we can't keep our hands off each other."

Twenty minutes later, Edward dropped me off after a long kiss goodnight.

Mom and Phil were already in bed when I entered the house. I went straight to my bathroom to shower.

Edward and I didn't see each other the next day. His dad had him doing odd jobs all around the house and by the time he was done, it was already too late in the evening for either of us to see each other.

Monday morning, I woke up a cramping mess and to my period. I knew I was supposed to start, but I still hated it. Hopefully my birth control would help with a lot of my cramping.

I drove to Alice's to pick her up. I noticed Edward's truck was still in the driveway. He didn't mention anything the night before about not feeling well.

When they both came walking out, I realized, he was planning to ride with me and Alice.

I got out and walked straight into his arms. "I hate mother nature, sometimes."

"Let me guess, you started your period," he said, placing a kiss on top of my head.

"You two must really love each other if you're talking about periods. Don't guys hate stuff like that?" Alice asked, scrunching up her nose at Edward.

Edward shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, if it has to do with her, I don't care and it doesn't gross me out like other guys. I'm whipped when it comes to her; she says _jump_ and I say _how high_."

"Gag! Okay, can we go, please?" Alice seemed like she was in a huge hurry and I think I knew why...Jasper.

I looked up at Edward. "You mind driving?"

I pulled away from him, holding out my keys. "Nah, c'mon. I hope you don't mind me riding with you today; my dad's taking my truck in to be serviced."

"I don't mind at all." Edward walked me to the passenger side and helped me in. Alice had already climbed in the back seat. I was wanting the day to be over with already because I felt like someone was kicking me in the stomach, repeatedly.

When Edward slipped into the driver seat, Alice gasped. "You're letting him drive your car? No Fair!" she whined, crossing her arms over her chest, slumping into the back seat.

"Sorry, Ali, if it wasn't him, I was gonna ask you. How about tomorrow?" I suggested.

"Your car?" She seemed pretty eager to drive my car. _What was the big deal about my_ _car, anyway? It was just an Xterra._

"Yes, my car. I feel like crap and driving isn't cutting it today." I turned back around in my seat and fastened my seat-belt. I pulled a blister pack of Midol from my purse, my bottle of water and took the two pills, hoping they'd ease my discomfort.

Edward reached over and gave my knee a small squeeze. "You sure you're okay to go to school?"

I nodded slightly. "Yeah, I don't like missing school unless I necessarily have to."

"Okay." And then he chuckled. "I was wondering when you'd let me drive your car."

"You can thank mother nature," I grumbled before leaning back in my seat to take in the scenery as he drove. Edward kept his hand in mine unless he had to shift gears. "What's so cool about my car anyway? You have a four wheel drive, too, and it's a five speed."

We pulled into his usual spot at school. "I've always liked these." Tanya was just stepping out of her car when Edward turned the ignition off. I didn't normally see her around and I was quite thankful for that.

She leaned up against her car and watched as Edward got out and walked around to let me and Alice out. When he opened the door, Tanya started her bullshit. "Well, isn't this...I don't know, cozy?"

"Fuck off, Tanya," Alice said as she climbed out through the back door of my SUV.

Tanya stood at her full height, which was only an inch or two, taller than me. "Edward, tell your sister she better watch her mouth."

Edward ignored her. He wrapped his arm around my waist and tried leading me into the school until Tanya grabbed a hold of his arm and pulled him back. "Tell her!"

I wasn't in the mood for anyone's bullshit, especially hers. I reached over and grabbed her thumb, pulling it back until she whimpered and let go of Edward's arm. "If I were you, I'd keep my hands to myself. Touch him again and we'll see how far that modeling career of yours goes with a deformed hand."

She yanked her hand away. "How dare you!"

"How dare me, what?" I stepped closer to her. "I don't give a shit who you think you are. To me, you're a nobody and have no respect for anyone. Not even yourself. Touch my boyfriend again, and I'll take that thumb of yours and..."

"Bella, don't. She's not worth the words; let's go," Edward said, urging me to walk away before I used her head as a jack stand under my back tire.

Her facial features turned livid, much like the first time we had an encounter. "I could have your boyfriend, if I wanted him."

I looked between Alice and Edward. Both of them were shaking their heads. "Keep dreaming. Actually, I know you'd never have a chance with me whatsoever. Just stick to your own group of _has-beens_ and leave us alone." Edward grabbed my hand and started pulling me along. "C'mon, Alice."

I looked back over my shoulder and witnessed Alice flipping Tanya the bird as she walked off. I smiled, doing a mental fist bump.

"Remind me not to park there anymore; I hate that bitch," Edward said as he pulled the door open for us to enter.

Thank goodness the rest of the day turned out okay. Jessica left me alone, surprisingly. I honestly thought she'd have plenty of snide remarks about the fading hickey on my neck, but she left me alone.

By Wednesday, I was feeling a whole lot better. When the alarm on my phone went off at eight o'clock, Alice got curious. "What's the alarm for?"

"My birth control," I said, watching her out of the corner of my eye.

"How long have you been on it?" she asked as she watched me push the pill through its opening and pop it in my mouth.

I took a sip of my water to wash it down before answering her. "I just started them this past Monday."

"Oh," was all she said before we made our way downstairs from her room. I had shown up at her house earlier than usual because I woke up feeling so much better and wanted some chit-chat time with my mom before we left the house. I went to Alice's as mom left for work.

The rest of the week went pretty much the same. We started parking on the other side of the parking lot to avoid any more confrontations with Tanya. Edward did the same when he would get to school earlier than us.

By Friday, my period was over and I was thankful. I was craving more of Edward's touch and couldn't wait to feel it.

After school, we went directly to his house because we needed to help finish setting up for the bonfire. I looked forward to having a little fun.

Saturday rolled around and people started showing up around two o'clock. There were volleyball games, badminton and even football games, going on. I joined in on a few of the badminton games. I was actually having loads of fun.

During the week, Alice and I were supposed to attend Edward's first practice, but we didn't make it. I was still feeling a little blah on Tuesday when it happened. Edward said he understood and would let it slide just that once.

That brought me to now; I was currently dragging Alice over to where Edward was standing, talking to most of the guys from his team. I had been gradually introduced to the rest of his co-players over the last week except Jasper. My current main target.

Alice was protesting, but there was no way in hell I was going to let her have her crush from afar. I only hoped Jasper found her as intriguing as she found him. It was only fair that I stuck my nose into her business since she did it with mine. Plus, I had an advantage; my boyfriend already knew Jasper.

"Hey, guys." Edward snaked an arm around my waist. Everyone else said their _hellos_ to me until I realized Alice wasn't' next to me.

I turned to see where she was, but caught her slowing backing away from the group. "Alice," I said, moving away from Edward to grab a hold of her arm to pull her over to the group.

She mumbled something under her breath and stepped up next to me. I rose up on my tip-toes to whisper in Edward's ear. "Introduce Alice to Jasper." He turned, brows knitted together in confusion. "Trust me."

Edward chuckled. "Hey, Jasper, you haven't met my sister, Alice, yet, have you?

Jasper stepped forward, in front of Alice. "Can't say that I have." He extended his hand toward her. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Alice's face turned bright pink. "It's nice to meet you, too, Jasper."

Everyone slowly backed away, leaving Alice and Jasper to talk.

As we walked away, Edward snaked his arms around me from behind. He placed a kiss on my neck. "What was all that about?"

I glanced up, noticing our parents were watching us. All four of them had smiles on their faces.

I turned to look up at him. "Alice saw Jasper last week in the hallway at school. She's been drooling over him ever since."

"Ah," he said. "...my sister finally found her true love," he stated, leaning his head down to kiss me. "You do realize that our parents haven't taken their eyes off us in the last few minutes, right?"

I nodded. "I noticed." I reached down and grabbed his hand. "C'mon, let's go see what they're up to."

We walked over to where our parents were standing. "What're you guys up to?" Edward asked as he sat down on the bench next to his mom. He pulled me down to sit on his leg.

"Oh, just watching everyone have a great time. Good turn out this year," Esme said. She reached for her bottle of water and took a large drink.

"Have you been playing any games?" I asked, moving to sit on the bench between Edward's legs.

Phil shook his head. "Nah, that's for all you kids. Evan's out there playing some volleyball. Did you see his new arm candy?"

Edward and Carlisle both chuckled. "No, what's her name?" Edward asked.

"Her name's Rosalie Hale. She just moved here from New York. She's a sports editor for the newspaper," mom explained. "Look, there she is talking to that group of girls. She's the tall blonde haired girl; she's really beautiful. I think Evan finally met his match."

Carlisle chuckled. "Yeah, the last girl was a real piece of work. What was her name, Es?"

"I think it was Victoria or something like that." Esme shivered. "She gave me the creeps."

"I think she was a lesbian and the only reason she gave you the creeps was because she paid more attention to you or Alice when she came over," Carlisle retorted.

We all laughed when Esme shivered, then my mom piped in. "C'mon Es, you know that flaming red hair did it for you."

"Shut your pie hole, Ren. I think she was more your type," Esme bit back, sarcastically.

"Nah, I like mine about six foot – two, brown hair and with a dick." Mom described Phil to a _'T',_ and I couldn't believe the language my mom was using. I sat listening with my mouth practically hanging open.

Carlisle put his two cents in. "I'm sure she had a strap-on, somewhere. Probably in that huge purse of hers."

I spewed my drink at Carlisle's words. They all laughed at my reaction.

They continued on with their playful banter. Our heads were going back and forth like we were at a tennis match. It was pretty hilarious to listen to our parents be so juvenile.

"She did have somewhat of a masculine build," Phil finally said. "I think she had more muscle tone than me."

It was funny watching our parents back and forth like this and knew when a joke was meant to be a joke.

When the sun started to set, Edward and I made our way down to the water's edge. I sat between his legs with my back to his chest. His arms were wrapped around my shoulders; one of his thumbs was ghosting over one of my nipples. They were both hard, of course. His touch always sent me into high volume cravings.

We sat watching as the sun went down. I was so content with all of my surroundings. My love for Edward was growing more and more every day and this was one of those moments that I really didn't care for, but sitting here with him, was one of the best.

"I love you," he whispered into my ear. I never wanted this moment to end, and I would never get tired of him saying those three little words to me.

We were peaceful and serene as I felt my body melting further and further into his. It was like we were one in the same and now, I entirely believed what Alice said about Edward and I belonging together.

I pulled his arms further around me. He nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck. "I love you, too. More than anything."

We heard the fire poof to life behind us. Our little bubble was broken by Evan yelling to get our attention. "C'mon you, two. It's weenie time."

We got up and made our way over to where all the long skewers were laying and the platters upon platters of hot dogs, were.

I noticed Alice was flanked by Jasper. They seemed to be getting along really well. A lot of the other guys were with their girlfriends, as well. Tyler and his girlfriend, Trisha, whom went to a different school than us, were in front of us in line.

Evan pushed his way in behind us with Rosalie under his arm. Edward and I already knew who she was, but hadn't been formally introduced. "Who's your friend, Ev?"

"I'm sorry. Rosalie, this is my brother, Edward, and this is his girlfriend, Bella." Evan gestured toward each of us as he did introductions.

I extended my hand toward her. "Nice to meet you, Rosalie."

Edward shook her hand, too. "You can call me, Rose."

"You enjoying yourself, Rose?" Edward asked as he started reaching for stuff to fix his bun for his hot dog and other side items. There were other meats being cooked on the grills, but I wanted a charred hot dog.

I noticed Rosalie giving me side glances like she was assessing me for something. I brushed it away, not paying too much attention to her. Something seemed all too familiar about her, but I left it at that and figured it was because we just met.

We all made our way over to the bonfire to roast our hot dogs. I hadn't ever done anything like that before. It was pretty cool and I couldn't wait until the next bonfire. It wouldn't be until Halloween, but I still couldn't wait. Everyone was supposed to dress up in costumes and there was a contest for the best dressed.

After our hot dogs were roasted, we made our way over to one of the many picnic tables. Rosalie sat next to me. "Evan said you moved here from Washington?"

I nodded, being polite. "Yeah, Forks. You ever hear of it?"

"No, but I've been to Seattle a few times; beautiful city," she said, taking a small bite of her potato salad.

"I've only been in Seattle, through the airport, a few times." Rosalie seemed to be on my every word. Not that there was too many of them, but her interest in me was causing me to wonder.

"You still have family there?" She asked, looking over at me.

I nodded, again. "Yeah, my dad's still there. I hoped he'd move down here."

"Leave any old boyfriends behind? Any that you wished you could see again?" She was definitely starting to get into the more personal stuff and I wasn't so sure I wanted to share that with her.

I nearly choked on my food. I shook my head. "No, no boyfriend left behind."

I wasn't sure if I was comfortable enough to talk to her about my life. "Edward seems really nice." I scrunched my brows, wondering where she was leading this conversation. "You two been together for very long?" I had been doing so well until she started questioning me about old boyfriends _._ It was like she did it on purpose to get a reaction out of me. I was getting a very bad vibe from her and I wasn't liking it one bit.

I didn't want to answer her question, but I relented, hoping she'd get the hint that I wasn't into sharing so much information with a stranger. "Edward's the best. We love each other, so time to us doesn't matter. We just know we were meant to be together and I love him more than anything." I felt the need to tell her to go fuck herself, but I bit my tongue.

Edward chose that moment to chime into our conversation. "Awe, baby, I love you, too." He kissed the side of my head.

Rosalie smiled at our interaction, although, it seemed forced.

"So, Edward, when's the season start for you?" Now, I was really curious about Rosalie. If she was a sports editor, wouldn't she know when the baseball season started?

"In a few weeks. Our first game is the third weekend in September," Edward replied.

Rosalie nodded. "That's pretty cool. Maybe I could come to one of your games with Bella."

I chose that moment to pull Edward away to talk to him. "Um...Edward, can I talk to you for a minute...privately?"

"Sure; excuse us. We'll be back in a few minutes. Save our spots, please?" Evan nodded and scooted closer to Rosalie.

I grabbed Edward's hand and dragged him to the other side of the bonfire. We were out of ear shot and line of sight of Rosalie and Evan.

"Bella, what's goin' on?" Edward asked as soon as we stopped on the other side of the fire.

I shook my head. "I don't know about Rosalie. She keeps asking all sorts of questions."

"Like what?"

"Where I'm from and if I left any boyfriends behind. She keeps asking questions about you." I knew I was whining about it, but she was throwing me off guard with all her questions and I didn't like it.

Edward cupped my face in his hands. "Baby, she's new in town. Maybe she's just trying to get to know you."

I sighed, giving him a pouty look. "Fine, but when we go back to the table, you can sit on the other side of me, okay?" He pressed a quick kiss to my lips. "Baby, you can't shun everyone who's just trying to make friends." He lowered his head and gave me a small kiss, again. "Actually, why don't you go over by Alice and Jasper to be a little nosy. I'm kinda curious about how well they're getting along."

I smiled up at him. "Okay, me too. Who knows, maybe Alice finally has a boyfriend."

Edward chuckled at me. "Yeah, and maybe you won't worry so much anymore about leaving her out."

"You're right." I moved my arms up around his neck and pulled his face to mine. When I pressed my lips to his, he wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me.

What I intended to be a small kiss, turned into a full blown make-out session until we heard someone whistle behind us. We detached our lips from one another and turned to see Edward's friend James. "Get a room, you two."

Edward mumbled, _"I wish,"_ only loud enough for me to hear.

James walked up to us and fist bumped Edward. "What's up, James?"

"Oh, you know, enjoying the view and watching you two play tonsil hockey," James said jokingly, but I noticed he also looked me up and down when he said he was enjoying the view.

Apparently Edward didn't notice or didn't want to. "Gotta get play time when I can." I gave Edward's chest a small love tap. "What? It's true."

"I was actually getting ready to take off, man. I'll see you at school on Monday. Thanks for the festivities." James then looked over at me. "It was good seeing you, Bella."

I didn't say anything. I only nodded.

"See ya Monday. Thanks for coming." They fist bumped again before James walked off.

Edward and I made our way back to the table. I picked up my plate and drink so I could sit by Alice. Rosalie noticed I wasn't going to sit there anymore. "Leaving so soon?"

"No. I'm gonna go sit with Alice; I've barely seen her all day," I replied, giving Edward one more kiss before I turned to walk away. "Love you."

"Love you, too," he said back to me.

I walked off looking for Alice. I spotted her sitting with Jasper by our parents. She looked so happy. I only hoped that Jasper liked her, too.

When I plopped down on the bench next to her and sighed as she turned toward me. "What's wrong with you? And where's my brother?"

"He's over with Evan and Rosalie. I need to talk to you, but it can wait until tomorrow so we can have more privacy," I said, pushing my food away. I lost my appetite over Rosalie's nosiness.

"Everything okay with you two?" She asked, draping her arm over my shoulder.

I glanced up to see where Jasper was only to notice he was engaged in a conversation with Phil. "Yeah, we're fine. Better than ever, actually."

"Good. I noticed that Jessica's been keeping her distance from you, but not without sending death glares your way."

I chuckled at her. "Who gives a shit. She's gonna lose that bet. She'll be out of a thousand dollars. Did Edward tell you that he tried to double it, but she said she was good with the original bet?" I loved watching her storm off like a little baby being told No.

She nodded. "I still can't believe you two are doing that to her? It's hilarious just thinking about it."

"Well, as soon as I win that bet, you and I are gonna have fun spending that money," I giggled. "Stupid bitch."

"That's my girl." She hugged me, smiling.

"Enough about me; how's things going with Jasper? You two look cozy," I asked, looking over at Jasper to see if he had started paying attention, but he was still talking to Phil.

She let out a dreamy sigh. "He's everything. More than I thought he would be; he's so smart."

"He's pretty easy on the eyes, too," I said, teasingly, shoulder bumping her. And he was easy on the eyes. He had the bluest of blue eyes that I've ever seen. His hair was wavy blonde and had the perfect build. I already have me a man, but who's to say it's not okay to look?

"That he is. I just can't wait to get my hands on his..."

I cut her off before she could even finish her sentence. "Please, Alice, do not elaborate on where you want your hands. I know Edward and I subject you to some of our encounters, but I can do without the fantasies you have of you and Jasper."

"Who says they're fantasies? You know as well as I do that I know these things," she said, looking over at me with a smug look, tapping her temple.

"Alice, I love you, but you're strange sometimes," I retorted, laying my head on her shoulder.

"I just love having my best-friend confess her undying love for me and calling me weird in the same sentence," she said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "And I love you, too."

I raised my head up. "I called you strange, not weird."

"Isn't strange and weird the same thing?"

"Yeah, I suppose, but you give it a whole new meaning," I said, trailing off of our conversation. I did truly love her and was very glad she came into my life.

For the rest of the night, I did notice Jessica glaring at me a few times. She even attempted to sidle up next to Edward like she had some claim on him, but he nudged her away as politely as he could. It just wasn't in him to be an asshole.

Luckily, we left shortly after. I was making plans to spend the next day with Alice. I needed to tell her about Rosalie and the bad vibe I was getting from her, so when Edward pulled into my driveway, we had a nice, long tongue dancing contest – neither one of us winning; we were both so worked up that if Edward didn't leave, we'd end up out on the front lawn for the whole neighborhood to see. It was bad enough that it already felt like someone was watching us. I didn't want to say anything to ruin our moment.

It was probably a neighbor getting an eye full. I hoped they got what they were looking for from watching us.

* * *

 **As the writer, I think I kinda like these two.**

 **RTB**


	18. Chapter 18

******MORE FLUFF ALERT******

 **AND AN EPOV**

 **No copy right infringement intended. SM owns all characters. I own all mistakes.**

 **2/9/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 18**

 **EPOV**

* * *

I could never tell Bella enough every day how much I loved her, but the day she told me she was starting birth control, I felt like a selfish prick, but my whole world just sealed itself together. It made me feel like I was on top of the world. I was so damn anxious to get in her pants, but I needed to wait for her. Yes, I'm more than just a little horny and lately, that's all I think about. I know sex isn't what a relationship was about and I keep reminding myself that every time I can get my hand up her shirt or down her pants. I felt like I was being teased, but I also knew that she'd let me know when she's ready.

The bonfire turned out to be a success. Bella was creeped out by Rosalie, but I hopefully eased her conscience some by telling her that Rosalie was new in town and was only trying to make friends. I hoped that's all it truly was. Evan seemed to be happy and as long as my brother was happy, I could be happy for him.

Bella's birthday was coming up within the next couple weeks and I wanted to plan something special for her. If things went as planned, I hoped that what I had in the works, would be the night. We were getting more and more comfortable with each other's bodies and starting to explore more. She was going to make me explode before too long.

I was planning on a private night with her away from our parents after we celebrate with them, of course. Where? I wasn't quite sure yet. I was old enough to get a hotel room, on my own, but I wasn't so sure if Bella's mom would allow her to be out all night. I couldn't be so lucky.

"Hey, man, what's got you thinking so hard, over there?" Jasper asked as he sat down next to me on the bench in the locker room. We had just finished our practice and were changing before we headed out. Alice and Bella were waiting for us. We'd become good friends since Alice attached herself to him. It's a good thing he liked her, too.

I shook my head at him. "I'm trying to figure out the best way to get some alone time with Bella, on her birthday. I want it to be special."

"She's turning seventeen, right?" He asked, kicking off his cleats and pulling off his socks.

"Yeah," I replied, pulling my shirt over my head. "I can't think of anything I could do except take her out for dinner and a movie, but we're having dinner at her house and cake afterward."

He nodded at me. "Mind if I suggest something and maybe I can help you out a little?"

"Sure, anything can help. I want it to be a surprise, so the more help I have from you and you alone, the better. That means Alice can't know everything, okay?" I said, glancing at him and smiling.

"That's cool, man." He pulled on his shorts and slipped on a pair of sandals. "Well, we've got this alcove down on our private beach; it's really secluded. It's surrounded by huge boulders like a cave almost and maybe you can set up a romantic picnic."

I, all of a sudden, felt very embarrassed. "I was hoping it will be our first time, if you know what I mean."

He chuckled at me. "Wow, the way you two are around each other, you'd think you were already fuckin' like rabbits."

I let out an amused chuckle, shaking my head. "No, no fuckin', yet," I said, slipping on my Razor flip-flops and grabbing my bag. "That's what I was hoping for, for her birthday, to ya know...do it."

"You can say _fuck,_ dude, 'cause that's what it is," he said, looking amused.

I back-handed his bicep. "I'm not gonna fuck her on her birthday; I wanna make love to her, you dip-shit." Then I looked straight ahead and started walking toward the doors. "The fucking will come later."

Jasper laughed. "You're too funny, dude." He caught up to me before we reached the doors and stopped me. "So, how's my idea sound? Lots of private time and maybe some nookie while you're at it."

I looked at him like I was about to punch his lights out. "Dude, just messin' around," he said, putting his hands up in defense. "Okay, in all seriousness, I can help get it set up for you. Just text me and let me know when you're on your way and I can get all the stuff down there. Just bring me what you want and I'll be your fairy godfather for the night."

"You'd seriously help me out?" If he'd help me out, I'd make sure Bella had the best night...ever.

"Yeah, and I promise not to say too much to your sister to give it away, but I can't lie to her. She's too smart for her own good and somehow knows things before I can even say them," he said, lighting up as he talked about Alice. If he only knew the truth behind her knowing things before anyone else would.

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Okay. I'll get all the stuff ready the night before and bring it over for you. Her birthday's on the thirteenth, so we've got plenty of time to plan the rest out. There's not much really. I already have all the stuff, it's just getting it together without anyone questioning me about it."

"Alright, it's a plan, then. Now, about your sister..." he trailed off as we started walking toward the door. Just like Evan, as long as my sister and brother were happy, then I was happy for them.

When we walked out through the double doors, the girls were engulfed in a serious conversation. I wasn't sure if I should question what was going on, but if Bella wanted me to know, she'd tell me.

Bella smiled up at me as I approached her. "Hey, you. Great practice today."

"Thanks. Everything okay? You two looked like you were having a serious conversation." I tried not to sound too pushy, but my curiosity was getting the best of me.

"We're good. Just talking about my birthday, that's all. Alice wants to have some huge party and I don't want one. I just want the family and immediate friends over, but she seems to think I need to have a big party." She turned to look back at Alice. "No big party, Alice. Just us and our parents. Of course Jasper can come, too, but no one else. I don't need it."

"I thought your mom already had a dinner planned then we'll have cake afterward? I have plans for us, too," I said, wrapping my arms around her from behind, kissing her neck.

Alice and Jasper watched us as we interacted with each other. "Yeah, she does. Dinner then cake. Maybe presents, but that's another thing I don't need. I already have everything I need and want."

"You're so damn stubborn," I said, leaning down and playfully biting her neck. She jerked away from me when I started sucking. "Quit moving, you're ruining my masterpiece."

"That's disgusting. She looks like a tramp when you suck those things all over her," Alice said, scrunching her nose up at me.

"Hey, she sucks 'em on me, too. You just don't see them," I said in defense. Which was true. I currently had one on the lower part of my stomach just before you get to my junk. We were getting pretty frisky yesterday and she was being her normal playful self when she started licking down my stomach and ended up pulling my pants down some so she could suck on my stomach. I wished she'd suck on something else, but it didn't happen.

Alice rolled her eyes when Jasper chuckled. "C'mon, Ali, let them have their fun. I can suck one on you, if you'd like."

"Jasper Jackson, if you even think about sucking one of those things on me, you won't walk for a week." Yes, Jasper and Alice were finally official. They were with each other constantly, which freed up a lot of time for me and Bella to be together.

Bella and I laughed at them. "Well, we're outta here. We'll see you guys later."

Alice and Jasper walked one direction while Bella and I walked in the other. I was in a hurry to get home because thinking about what I wanted to do to her on her birthday, was starting to get me hard and hopefully we could have a little play time before my parents got home.

We made it back to my house with only an hour to spare before either of my parents were due home. "You wanna shower with me?"

"Nah, I'll sit in there with you, if you don't mind, while I watch," she suggested. I smiled, loving the idea, even though I'd rather have her in the shower with me, but I'd take what I could get.

We made our way upstairs; me stripping out of my clothes on the way and headed straight to my bathroom. I was kicking off my pants when I reached in and turned on the water. Bella hopped up on the sink and when I turned around, her eyes popped out of her head because I was hard as a rock and standing at attention. "You were hoping for some play time, weren't you?"

"Just a little, but if you're not up to it, that's okay," I said, stepping over to her and easing myself between her legs. "You wanna watch me touch myself? Because there's no way this thing's going down on its own."

She smiled at me before she crashed her lips to mine. We kissed for a few minutes before she pushed me back. "You need to shower. I can smell the sweat on you."

I chuckled at her. "Yeah, I guess I do."

I wanted so bad for her to climb in with me. To have her bent over as I pumped into her would make my millennium. She's let me finger fuck her numerous times, but that's as far as we've ventured. I was more than ready for more.

Bella surprised me when she hopped off the counter by the sink and came over to the shower and began watching me. I soaped up my hand and started stroking myself. Her eyes were as wide as saucers and licked her lips. She was breathing heavy, too.

I stood looking at her like a thirsty man, lost in the desert. "You gonna keep watching me like that?"

I started stroking faster when Bella slid her hand down her stomach and slipped her hand into her shorts. I had to close my eyes for a minute to get the picture out of my head. I couldn't believe she was actually rubbing herself in front of me.

She wasn't taking her eyes off me. The lust that was pouring from her was magnetic. "Slip your finger in for me."

I knew she did what I asked. Her loud moan gave it away. "Oh, God, Edward," she whimpered as she thrusted her finger in and out a few times before she suddenly yanked her hand from her shorts and started stripping out of her clothes.

As soon as she stepped in with me, I was just a little too hopeful to go all the way, until she dropped to her knees in front of me and pushed my hand away. She let the water wash away the soap before she leaned forward and took me into her mouth.

My knees just about buckled from underneath me.

This was my first blow job; Charlotte never went that far. She wouldn't even let me go down on her and I was hoping Bella would let me venture that far.

As far as I was concerned, she was a pro because I had nothing to compare to.

"Ah, fuck," I groaned, placing my hand on the shower wall to keep from falling on top of her before I got brave and placed my other hand on the back of her head.

The harder she sucked, the quicker I was going to explode.

She slipped the head of my cock out of her mouth with a pop and jacked me a few times before sucking me back in. I wanted so badly to snatch her up, wrap her legs around me and sink my dick so far into her, but I had to take what I was getting.

After a minute, she pulled away and jacked me until I came all over her tits.

My eyes rolled to the back of my head just seeing my cum all over her chest. It was so damn sexy.

When I got a handle on myself, I grabbed her hand, pulled her out of the shower and over to the sink. I lifted her, placing her ass on the edge, and lifted her legs, pulling them open so she had her feet resting on the lip of the sink.

I didn't waste any time before I dropped to my knees and leaned forward to swipe my tongue from the bottom of her opening to the top where her clit was nestled between her folds. I felt her jerk as soon as I made contact with her bundle of nerves. "Oh, Sweet Jesus."

"Mmmm...I'm liking this, baby."

She hadn't answered me, only breathing heavily, so I pushed a finger inside of her and began a slow pace as I sucked on her clit. I was getting hard, again, but I could wait. "Does this feel good, baby?"

"Yes! Yes! Oh, God, I'm close," she exclaimed as I sucked her clit back into my mouth and slowly added another finger and sped up my movements. When I felt that soft but rough tissue area, up inside of her, I twisted my hand so I could curl my middle finger to hit her spot. Her body began jerking and her pussy started pulsing around my fingers. I continued pumping as she froze, allowing her orgasm to take over. It was a sight I wanted to see every day for the rest of my life.

"Jesus, baby. That was pretty intense."

"Hell, yeah, it was. Where the hell did that come from?"

"I don't know really. I've never done that before and as long as it makes you feel good, I'll keep doing it," I replied, stepping a little closer.

Bella sat up, adjusting herself on the edge of the sink. She reached out and took my dick in her hand. "You better keep doing it. That shit's addictive and I can't wait for more."

I was surprised when she placed the head off my cock on her clit and rubbed it in circles. "I can't wait to have you inside me."

"I can be inside you right now," I whispered at her ear as I took my dick in my hand to move it up and down her slit. "Please, baby? I want you so bad."

Then a bucket of cold water was dumped on me when I heard the front door slam from downstairs. "Shit!"

We hurriedly got dressed and slipped our shoes on before making our way downstairs.

"Hello!" I yelled out until my mom stuck her head around the corner from the kitchen,

"Hey, you two." She was pulling stuff out of bags when we walked in. "Put this in the fridge, please?" She handed Bella a huge piece of meat.

I put a few things in the pantry before I took a seat at the table. Bella joined me after she got a couple of sodas from the fridge. "Is that dinner?"

"It's for tomorrow. What are you two up to?"

Bella and I glanced at each other before I answered. "We went for a swim and I was about to walk her out to her car before you got here."

Mom smiled over at us. "You two are so cute together."

I was embarrassed now. "Thanks mom." I stood from the table. "I'm gonna walk Bella out. I'll be right back."

We made our way outside where I stood leaning against her car as she wrapped her arms around my torso. "That was great."

"Yeah," I agreed. "We almost went further, though, didn't we?"

"Mmmhmm..." she hummed, "I think I would've let it happen. I'm just as eager as you are."

"I don't know about that," I said, chuckling.

She pulled away from our embrace. "Soon," she said, raising up on her tip-toes to press her lips to mine. "I need to get home. I have some homework to get done before I go to bed."

"Okay," I said. "I love you. Call me before you go to bed."

One more kiss. "I will." She rubbed her hand over my flaccid member. "I'll be thinking about this all night." And another kiss. "I love you."

And she was off, leaving me gaping, standing in the driveway, wondering if I could follow her home to sneak up to her room and have my wicked way with her.

The following Monday at school, I got up the nerve to ask Jasper some questions. I wasn't sure if he had experience, but I wanted his opinion on some stuff. I may be eighteen, but that doesn't mean I have a whole lot of experience in the sex department. Charlotte wasn't much to add to that experience.

Jasper and I were getting changed before we headed out for practice. All the rest of the team was already out on the field. "Hey, Jasper, you mind if I ask you some personal questions?"

"Sure, man. I don't have anything to hide. What's on your mind?"

"Well, I was wondering if you have experience, you know, with girls?" I asked shyly, looking away so he didn't see my embarrassment.

"I don't know if I should answer that question, considering you're my girlfriends brother," he replied, looking over at me before he tied up his cleats.

"Nah...I'm not asking for Alice's sake; just my own," I said, doing the same as him and tying my shoes.

He chuckled at me. "Are you telling me that you're eighteen and never had sex before?"

"Never mind I said anything. And yes, I've had sex before, but she never wanted to experiment with different stuff. She only wanted to be on the top." I waved him off before getting up from the bench and grabbing my mitt.

"No, don't be like that. I wasn't making fun. I'm just surprised is all," he said, pulling me back to sit down.

I sighed heavily before I answered him. "This is fucked up. I mean, she never even gave me a hand job."

He chuckled at me. "That sucks." Then he patted my shoulder as we got up and started walking out to the field. "First of all, it'll come natural to you. You're a man. You know where to put it, right? You just need to be easy and not...you know, shove your dick inside of her. Now, I'm not a girl, so I can't tell you what it'll feel like, but I do know this, if you love her as much as I think you do, then it'll be the best experience you ever have. Even though you've been with someone else, this'll be like your first time. Love is what changes the feeling. To you, it'll feel like your last meal, you know, your salvation, your means to an end."

Jasper was being the best sex instructor that I've ever encountered. He should be a teacher...in sex education.

"Thanks man." I shook my head. "I just want everything to be right. I'm afraid she'll wonder if I'm bigger than her ex or whether or not I'm doing it right."

"Dude, you really don't know a whole lot, do you? You never looked at titty mags or watch a porno?" He asked, looking confused. "Most guys your age have been jackin' their shit to a Jugs magazine or Debbie Does Dallas."

"I know, I'm deprived. I just usually used my imagination or something; never really into looking at shit like that. With Bella, though, I've got enough stuff for the spank bank to last me a lifetime," I said, chuckling.

"You mind if I ask you a personal question, now?"

I shook my head. "No, go for it."

"How far have you two actually gotten with each other? I'm sure you've seen each other naked, right?"

My mind immediately went to my shower with her the other day. Bella was the first girl that I've wanted to try anything with and I mean anything. "Well," I said, hanging my head. "We've definitely seen each other naked and we've pretty much been on every base except the home run."

"So that means you've finger fucked her?" He asked, smirking at me.

I nodded toward him, groaning as I thought about her. "Dude, I can't even begin to tell you. I'll get myself worked up just thinking about it."

"I don't think you two can wait until her birthday," he said, stuffing his mit into the back of his pants.

I needed to take my mind off of Bella's pussy. "Have you been with a lot of girls?" I was only curious. I wouldn't hold anything against him if he were a womanizer before he met my sister and changed his ways. Everyone has a past, that was for sure.

"Nah, man. Just two, but our relationships were pretty serious where we experimented a lot with each other. My last girlfriend, we were together for a couple of years before her parents moved away. I do tend to watch porno's and read a good girly mag every once in a while. You should get yourself one. You may learn a thing or two from it," he suggested, but I wasn't so sure how Bella would feel if she knew I was getting my rocks off by looking at other tits besides hers.

"That's good for Alice's sake, then," I stated, patting him on his shoulder. "You two are perfect together."

He nodded at me. "Yeah, she knows all about my ex's. Maria and I tried to stay in contact with each other, but her dad got transferred to Australia. He was some huge Intel guru and once she got over there and got used to her life, she met someone else."

"Sorry to hear that," I said back, feeling bad for him because to be with someone as long as he was with his ex, then for her to move away, that had to be hard on him.

"Don't be; I'm not. I never met anyone quite like Alice. She's so beautiful and smart. She can be so funny and sensitive at other times. I'm lucky you introduced us. I haven't known your sister for very long, but she's great. It's like she's always been a part of my life," he expressed, giving me a huge smile as he talked about Alice.

We walked through the doors and made our way out to the field. I could see Alice and Bella sitting in the stands to show support for us. I wasn't even paying attention to what was going on in front of me until I was hit in the stomach, just above my junk, with a ball.

I dropped to the ground, gripping my stomach, rolling over in pain. All the guys were laughing, even the coach.

I wasn't coherent at all until I felt the soft hand of my beautiful girl, rubbing her hand across my forehead. "Sweetie, I think you need to pay more attention to what's going on in front of you, from now on."

"Yeah," I grunted out. "My pride's more wounded than anything, right now."

"You okay, Cullen? Looks like Tyler got you pretty good," I heard the coach say. "You need an ice pack?"

I groaned, sitting up from where I was laid out on the ground. "No, I just need a minute. You guys can keep laughing at me all you want. I'll remember the next time one of you takes a ball to the gut."

"Awe...c'mon, Cullen, you know it was funny. We've all been nailed with a ball before and that's why we're laughing with you, not at you," James said, reaching his hand out to help me up. Bella grabbed my other hand as they both pulled at my arms. The pain was pretty much gone; I was lucky I didn't get hit in the dick.

Today was a practice game and a rival team was showing up to practice with us. We'd be playing like it was a regular game, but it didn't count towards our line-up. My only problem was, I could see all the guys, from the other team, ogling Bella and Alice. I heard a few of them making comments about bending them over the pitcher's mound and mounting them like dogs in heat.

I was trying my hardest to keep my temper in check and not let it bother me because I knew who Bella was going home with once the game was over.

Halfway through the game, it wasn't me that caused the commotion. Apparently, a comment was said about Alice, causing Jasper to jump the guy and start pounding on him.

I rushed over and pulled him off before it got too out of hand. "Woah! Woah! Woah! Jasper, chill, man. You can't get kicked off the team because of some asshole."

"You didn't hear what the fuck he was saying about Alice. He was even saying shit about Bella, too," he said, defensively. "Why aren't you over there beating their asses with me?"

"Because I know who Bella's going home with after we're done here, that's why. It's called trust, buddy. Yeah, it pisses me off, but they're going home with us, not them," I replied, standing in front of him to keep him from jumping the guy, again.

The coach came walking up to us. "Whitlock, SIT! NOW!" I could see the spit fly when he yelled. "You're out the first game. I can't have you beating up every guy for saying stuff. I don't care what it is."

Jasper slammed his mitt down to the ground. "Fuck this shit!" He said and stormed off toward the dugout.

I picked up his mitt and ran it over to him. "Dude, you need to chill, okay."

"That guy better hope I don't ever see him outside school grounds. Did you even hear what he was saying? Saying Alice looked like she'd be good at deep-throating and shit. And something about her taking it up the ass like a trooper."

"It's all talk, Jasper," I said, dropping his mitt down on the bench next to him. "You just need to ignore it."

"He was saying the same fuckin' shit about Bella, too, man. That's gotta piss you off; saying shit like that about your girl," he said, his nostrils flaring with his anger. His Texas accent was coming out pretty strong.

I nodded at him. "Yeah, well, just think, we're the lucky ones, not them, okay? You can't get kicked off the team. When we're done here, walk right up to Alice and plant a nice fat kiss on her lips and flaunt that she's yours and not his and he'll never find out whether or not she deep-throats or takes it up the ass like a trooper. Just follow my lead." I couldn't believe I was saying that about my sister, but I needed to reason with him.

"How do you do that, man? Be the civilized one and not get all pissed?" He asked, glancing up at me.

"Oh, it pisses me off, believe me. It has to take a lot to get me to react like you. Now, if he were touching her, that'd be a whole different story because the dude wouldn't have a fuckin' hand left," I expressed, slipping my mitt back on so I could head back out to the field. "Catch your breath; I need to get back out there before the coach benches me next."

After the game, I did exactly what I suggested Jasper do. I walked directly over to Bella and grabbed her, planting my lips on her and leaning her over for the whole team to see whose girl she was. "Wow! What was that for?"

"Because...some of these assholes need to know who gets to kiss you anytime I want," I said, standing her back up.

"Okaaaay..." she said, looking at me quizzically. "This have anything to do with what happened out on the field?"

I smiled at her guiltily. "Yeah...pretty much. The guy was saying shit about you and Alice and Jasper lost it."

As we left the field, I couldn't help but have a smug look on my face. The guy who Jasper jumped, had a nice shiner and fat lip. I chuckled at him as we passed, mumbling _asshole_ loud enough for him to hear. Thankfully he didn't do anything because I'd do more than give him a black eye and fat lip.

That night, I got my second blow-job.

* * *

 **They're getting closer and closer to doing the "DEED".**

 **There's more to come.**

 **RTB**


	19. Chapter 19

**((((((******Who likes Lemons because there's one waiting for you in this chapter?******))))))**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns all characters and all mistakes are my own.**

 **2/9/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 19**

 **BPOV**

* * *

The day after the bonfire, I spent it with Alice. I told her all about my Rosalie encounter. Alice said she hadn't seen anything involving her, but would keep a look out if anything came in a vision.

The next few weeks flew by and my birthday was just a few days away. Edward and I had been so busy with school work and his baseball stuff that we had to make time for one another. We understood and didn't make a big deal about our time together. We knew the stuff we had to do was important. Although, I was getting pretty anxious to find out what Edward had planned. I already knew what I wanted to happen. I was ready to be with him in every way possible. We'd come so close more than once, but we got control of ourselves and held back. That didn't keep us from doing other stuff. A lot of girls may not like it, but I loved having him in my mouth.

The first time I gave him a blow-job, I thought the poor guy was going to have a heart attack. Now, he can't get enough of it. I love the look on his face as he cums. It's like that first morning piss when you sigh in relief although, he's quite vocal about it. I can't say so much for myself on that part; I'm not very quiet. He's also stuck with his word and hadn't cum in his pants since that night in the back of his truck.

Mom and Phil were still working on the baby making. They decided to give it a few more months before they went to a doctor. My fingers were crossed for them. I'd love to have a baby around the house.

Edward's first game was scheduled for the Thursday before my birthday. I was pretty excited about seeing him play an actual game. I'd been to most of his practices, but there was something about watching him out there on that pitcher's mound that had my heart racing. Baseball was becoming my new favorite sport.

Alice and I rode together to the field where the game was being played. The place was completely packed by the time I pulled into the lot. I had to park clear on the other side of the park, making us walk forever and a day just to watch the game.

When we walked through the gates, we immediately found our parents. They had a small section up front for all of us. I noticed Evan and Rosalie were there, too.

"I don't wanna sit by Rosalie," I grumbled.

Alice nodded. "Okay, we'll sit behind them or closer to the top if you want."

I searched the field for Edward's number 11 on his shirt. I spotted him off to the side doing some practice pitches with Sydney, who I learned was the catcher.

Once we were seated away from Rosalie, my mom turned around. "I didn't think you were gonna make it."

"We had to park way on the other side of the park. This place is packed," I complained. I caught Rosalie's eyes as I spoke with my mom. She waved over her shoulder at me with a smug smile on her face. I'd love to wipe it off for her.

Mom turned back around and resumed her conversation with Esme. I tried my hardest to not look Rosalie's way, but I could feel her eyes on me and when I'd catch her looking, she'd turn back and talk to Evan.

"She keeps looking at me," I stressed to Alice. She looked over at Rosalie, shrugging her shoulders.

"Just ignore her. I haven't had any visions to indicate she's up to no good. Let my brother worry about her," she said when she faced forward.

The national anthem started to play, so we all stood with our right hands over our hearts. I glanced out at Edward. He had his ball cap placed over his heart as we all sang.

When the song was over, the players took their places on the field. Edward's team was up first to bat.

Before Edward sat down in the dugout, he looked over toward me, smiled and waved. We all waved back and gave him a thumbs up for good luck.

What I didn't realize about the game of baseball...it was never-ending.

Edward's team was ahead by one point, taking them into the third ending of the game. I was so mesmerized by watching him pitch that I didn't notice when Rosalie moved to sit next to me. "Hey, you. Enjoying the game?"

"A little boring, but I wouldn't be anywhere else, right now," I replied reluctantly.

"Edward's doing a great job," she simply stated. "I was wondering why you just don't call him Anthony? Edwards such an old name. He looks like an Anthony to me." I turned and glared at her. She noticed. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"Why do you even care what we call him? I think Edward sounds perfectly fine to me. How the hell do you even know what his middle name is, anyway?" I was still glaring at her, waiting for an answer.

She glanced out at the field. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you hated that name so much. Evan told me it was okay that I could call him Anthony."

"Why are you even talking to Evan about Edward, anyway? You wanna know about him, ask me or Edward, not Evan," I said bitterly. "Why do you even wanna call him Anthony in the first place?"

"It just came up in conversation," she retorted. "And I like the name better. It's suites him."

"It's none of your god..." Then Alice shoved against me.

When Alice elbowed me before I could lash out at Rosalie, she raised her brows at me to calm my shit. "So, Rosalie, you moved here from New York?"

"Yeah, I got a great job offer," she replied.

We were quiet for a few minutes before Rosalie spoke again. "So, Alice, don't you think Edward looks more like an Anthony than an Edward?"

"My brother looks like my brother. I'd call him jackass every day if I could get away with it."

I huffed. "Why do you even care?"

"Just curious, that's all," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"That's between us as a family," Alice said, looking over at Rosalie.

Rosalie's eyebrows raised up. "Okay, my bad," she said, getting up. "I guess I'll go back down there. I seem to have hit a sore subject for conversation."

Alice and I didn't say anything and just let her go. Her and her questions could kiss my ass.

Edward's team ended up winning 3-1. When the game was over, I ran out to the field to congratulate him. I launched myself at him, jumping into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist. I started peppering kisses all over his sweaty face. "I love you. I love you, I love you. You were so great out there. I'm so happy you won."

"I love you, too, baby and thank you." He hugged me tightly, kissing me. Our kiss was hurried and full of lust and passion. I felt our little bubble forming around us until we were interrupted by one his teammates.

"C'mon Cullen, suck face with your girl later. It's time to celebrate." Edward growled and set me down on my feet.

"Did you drive?" He asked as he grabbed my hand and started leading me off of the field.

"Yeah, Alice rode with me," I answered.

He glanced down at me. "Maybe she'll ride with Jasper. I want some alone time with my girl before we meet up at Gino's for pizza."

We walked up to Alice and Jasper who were sucking face much like Edward and I were. "Hey, Whitlock, mind giving my sister a ride over to Gino's?"

"Nah, it's cool, man. We'll meet you over there," Jasper replied.

I was so happy that Alice finally started talking to Jasper the night of the bonfire because they've been inseparable since then. They were perfect for each other and the smiles on both their faces proved they were beyond happy. We still made time for one another, though.

On the way out to the parking lot, we told our parents that we'd meet them at the pizza place. Edward made a quick stop at the restrooms before we headed out. "Mind if I drive?"

"Not at all." I pulled my keys from my pocket. "Drive away."

We seemed to walk forever. I knew I parked really far out, but this was ridiculous. "You get here late or something?"

"We got here just before the game started. Then I had to endure more of Rosalie's questions." I noticed Edward started walking faster. "What the heck's the hurry?"

Edward stopped abruptly, turning to face me. He looked over my shoulder and around us to see if anyone was nearby. "Because I wanna touch this," he said, slipping a hand between my legs and rubbing me a few times. "I haven't touched you in over a week; I need my fix."

"Lucky you, I'm wearing cotton shorts; easy access," I said, teasingly before rising up on my tip toes to kiss him.

Edward chuckled. "Why do ya think I stopped at the bathroom?" He pulled something from his back pocket that I hadn't noticed, and wiggled it in front of my face.

"What the hell is that?"

He smiled. "My cup."

"I'm not even gonna ask," I said, shaking my head. "Let's go or everyone's gonna wonder what took us so long to get there."

We hurried to my car and Edward practically peeled out of the parking lot, eager to get somewhere a little more secluded.

"I'm just gonna go by my house since Gino's is closer to there. That okay?"

I nodded and Edward put more pressure on the gas pedal.

When we pulled into his driveway, he parked between his truck and his dads truck, putting us mostly in the dark, but there was still enough light to see what we were doing.

Edward didn't waste time by hopping out and jumping into the back seat.

I kicked my flip-flops off and climbed between the seats only to straddle him.

Our lips were drawn to each other like magnets. They became frantic and wet against each other.

"Unbutton your shirt, baby," he requested against my lips. I was all too happy to oblige. I had a little surprise for him, though. My bra unfastened in the front.

Edward started easing his hand down the front of my shorts as I was unbuttoning my shirt. Once I pulled it open, his eyes grew wide. "Holy shit! Is that new?"

"Yup, and watch this." I snapped the little clip open in the front, causing my breasts to spill out. Edward's jaw dropped. "You like?"

"Fuck yeah, I do." He dipped his head down and took my left hardened nipple into his mouth and sucked. He growled like a starving animal after food. I could feel myself getting wetter by the second.

As he continually licked, sucked and nipped at my nipples, he moved his hand lower, easing a two fingers inside of me. My eyes grew wide when I felt them. I was so damn horny. Edward's hands were big with nice long fingers; they were made for playing the piano rather than play baseball, but he wasn't too musically inclined. He sure as hell knew how to play me like a delicate instrument, though.

I whimpered when he had both fingers pushed all the way in. If he moved anymore, I was going to cum, so I grabbed his arm to make him stop for a second. "Does that feel good, baby?"

"Give me a second. I'm so damn horny. Just a little touch and I'm ready to explode."

I couldn't hold back anymore. I didn't want to wait anymore. I had to have him, so when I pushed up from his lap and started pulling my shorts down , his eyes grew wide. "OH, God, me, too. What the hell are you doing?"

"Pull your pants down." As soon as his cock was free, I stroked him a few times before I lined him up with my opening. When I sank down on him the feeling caused me to suck in a big gust of air. "Oh, God. That um...shit." I couldn't speak clearly, completely overwhelmed by the sensation that ran through my body. I felt the stretch as I settled completely on him.

I grabbed Edward's head, pulling his face to mine, kissing him frantically. I began moving over him letting his dick slip in and out, grinding on him to get friction against my clit.

Edward pulled back and whispered against my lips. "I can't believe we're doing this now." He closed his eyes, focusing on what we were doing. His lips parted as his breathing picked up with our rapid movements. He then opened his eyes, looking into mine. "Fuck, I love you. You're about to cum, aren't you? I can feel you starting to squeeze me. You're so fucking tight."

"Shut up." He dropped his head down and began sucking and licking across both my breasts. One of my hands was in his hair while the other gripped at the door. My legs began to shake as the feeling in my pussy grew more intense. My clit felt was twitching and the heat began to rise the faster I moved over him. "Oh, God...Oh, God...Oh, God. I can't..."

Edward adjusted himself, moving down a little causing his cock to slip inside me further, pushing in as far as he could, pressing against my trigger spot. I screamed as my orgasm finally hit me full force. I froze as it rocked through me. "As much as that hurt my ear, I fucking loved it."

"I'm dead," I said, breathlessly.

Edward grabbed my hips and started moving me over him faster. "My turn." I helped by moving with him and grabbed his face to kiss him. We were breathing so heavily that I was starting to get light headed and sweat was pouring down my back. As soon as he held me against him, I knew he was releasing his seed inside me. "FUCK!" His eyes were closed as he took in the magnificent feeling we were sharing with each other. "Tell me why we waited so long to do that."

I smiled down at him. "Because I was stupid."

"You're definitely not stupid." He swatted my ass after a few minutes. "You need to get up. I can feel cum running down my balls."

I laughed and lifted myself off of him. "I have some tissue in the dash."

"Thank goodness. I didn't wanna walk around all sticky and crusty."

After a few minutes of cleaning ourselves up, Edward climbed back into the driver's seat. He was still breathing a little heavy and sat still for a few minutes before he looked over at me. "Fuck, baby. That was unbelievable." I could see his hands shaking a little.

"I know. And you're quite bigger than I expected," I said, smiling back at him. "My pussy feels a little sore." I grabbed his hand. "Why are you shaking?"

He chuckled. "I guess I'm a little in shock that we just had sex for the first time." He leaned across my console. "I'm not complaining and thank you for boosting my ego a little. I seriously can't be that big."

I shrugged my shoulder at him. "I'm only stating the truth. I love you, and I was more than ready."

"I love you, too, baby." I reached over and started the car. "We better hurry up before they send the Calvary looking for us."

At that moment, my phone vibrated in my pocket. "My phone keeps going off and it's probably my mom."

Edward scrambled to get his phone, too. "Shit!" He pressed a couple of buttons. "Shit, my mom tried calling twice."

"We'll think of something to say. I'm sure they're not stupid enough to think we don't do stuff." I knew my mom would probably think we were up to no good considering she was the one who suggested I get on birth control.

Edward grumbled. "I don't even wanna think about them knowing something."

About ten minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of Gino's Pizza. When we rushed inside, all eyes were on us. "'Bout time you two got here. We were starting to think you got lost," Phil said. He winked at me as we made our way over to our saved seats.

We were getting the infamous – _I know what you two were doing_ – looks from everyone. We just ignored them, and took our seats. Let them think what they want to.

The pizza was just being served when we sat down. Edward poured us each drinks and got us each a slice of supreme pizza. _Have I said how much I love this guy, lately?_

I was glad to be seated away from Evan and Rosalie, again. All I could think about was beating her ass.

We ate our pizza in our own little quiet bubble. Edward, occasionally, would reach up and wipe crumbs or sauce off my face. He never took one hand off my thigh. He was so adorable. I noticed my mom and Esme give each other sideways glances as they watched us. I tried my best to keep my attention on my food and Edward.

He smirked at me a few times and I knew what he was thinking. He was such a pervert. I couldn't wait until this weekend. Being as horny as we were now, I was sure he'd have my legs spread every chance he got, from now on. My poor crotch was in for it.

Thinking about my birthday, I knew my mom had planned on a family dinner with a cake afterward. I only hoped she was okay with Edward and I leaving shortly after. All I knew was, Edward wanted my birthday to be special and I was positive it would turn out perfectly.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom; be right back," I told Edward as I stood from the table. He grabbed my hand and pulled me down for a quick kiss. "I'm only going to the bathroom."

"I know," he retorted, smiling up at me.

I smiled back and made my way to the toilet.

As I sat down and started to pee, it stung a little. I figured it was from our little rendezvous. I knew it didn't sting for any other reason. When I wiped, there was a little streak of blood on the toilet paper. It wasn't enough to be concerned about and it almost grossed me out a little considering Edward was bigger than I expected. I mean, he's not huge, by any means, but it's been a little while since I've had sex and he's definitely bigger than Anthony. I shivered just thinking about it because I couldn't wait to be with him, again.

As I was washing my hands, Rosalie came walking into the bathroom. She wasn't giving up on whatever mission she was on. She walked over and leaned up against the counter, crossing her arms. "Anthony looks like a well satisfied man. You give him a congratulatory suck or fuck?"

"That's none of your fuckin' business. What's with you anyway? Last time I checked, I didn't have a magnet that attracted bitches, but apparently I do because they keep coming out of nowhere. Just back the fuck off and leave us alone," I said, scathingly before I turned to leave.

Rosalie chuckled, causing me to turn and glare at her. "I like you. No wonder Anthony's so smitten with you."

"Stop calling him Anthony. It's Edward. Did you even ask him what he preferred?" I angrily said back at her.

"He didn't give me a solid answer, so what's so wrong with the name Anthony? It's actually a really nice name. I'm sure Esme liked it enough when she gave it to him." She had a menacing smile on her face that was real close to being wiped off.

I couldn't figure out why his name was so important to her. It seemed like the only thing she wanted to talk about.

"Again, none of your business. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have people waiting for me," I said before yanking the door open and storming out.

I was fuming mad by the time I made it back to my seat. I shot an evil glare toward Evan. He looked surprised that I would even look at him that way. It wasn't his fault and I knew that, but he was with Rosalie and that was all I was thinking at that moment.

Alice was next to me instantly before I heard Phil ask Edward, "What's wrong with her?"

"Sweetie, everything okay?" My mom asked. I shrugged my shoulders, not wanting to get into the conversation. Maybe I was being too childish, but it still pissed me off.

"Someone say something to you?" Esme hit the nail on the head and now, I was positive Alice said something to her about Rosalie.

I gave Alice a knowing look. "I'm fine," I said, huffing and crossing my arms.

"You're not. We can clearly see that something upset you. What can we do to help?" Carlisle asked. He had always shown a caring side toward me since the moment I met him. I knew he meant well.

I shook my head. "You can't help, but thank you anyway." I turned to look at Edward. "Can we go, please?"

Edward looked up at his parents and mine. "Mind if we take off?"

"No, go take care of our girl," Carlisle answered.

Mom, Esme and Alice gave me sad smiles as we left the restaurant. Edward waved at everyone as we were leaving. I gave Alice a quick whisper that I would explain everything to her later. She nodded, letting me know that she heard me.

As soon as we got in the car, Edward grabbed my shoulders and turned me to look at him. "Baby, what happened?"

"Rosalie's what happened. She's so fuckin' nosy. She keeps asking why I don't call you Anthony; the name is so much nicer than Edward and she had the gall to ask me if I gave you a congratulatory suck or fuck because when we walked in, you looked like a well satisfied man." I growled. "I'm really close to beating her ass."

I, angrily, turned and yanked at my seat-belt, but it kept locking up. After the fourth or fifth time, Edward reached over to still my hands. "Calm down. Let me drive you home." He gripped my seat-belt and buckled it for me.

"I don't know who she thinks she is. Why can't she get the hint to stop asking me questions like that? Should we say something to Evan about it?" I was ranting and knew it. Edward sat and took it all in, probably hoping I'd shut my mouth sometime soon.

He glanced over at me. "I can call him when I get home."

"No, just leave it. If she says anything else, then we'll say something to him." I huffed and slumped back in my seat.

"Okay, but you need to calm down. She could just be one of those people who think they have to know everything," he suggested, but I wasn't buying it.

A few minutes later, he was pulling into my driveway. We sat quietly staring out the windshield before Edward spoke again. "You want me to walk you in?"

"As much as I'd love you to, I'm not very good company right now. I'm sorry; I just feel like she has an ulterior motive. It's like she's singling me out," I complained more.

Edward turned toward me and grabbed my hand, pulling me over to him. "Stop, okay. Go inside, take a hot shower and go to bed. Things will be a lot better tomorrow. Since I'm driving your car home, I'll be here by seven-thirty, okay?" He placed his hands on my cheeks. "I love you. Dream about me tonight and think about how great tonight was and your seventeenth birthday is gonna be for you." He pressed his lips to mine and my mind went blank. It was exactly what I needed.

I pulled back from him. "I love you, too and your dreams better be filled with me and only me," I demanded, leaning back in to kiss him. I opened my mouth, easing my tongue into his. He didn't hesitate and reciprocated, leading us into a passionate kiss.

After a couple of minutes, he pulled back, letting out a frustrated sigh. "We better stop before I say _fuck it_ and take you upstairs."

"I know," I whispered, but I honestly didn't want to stop. He was taking my mind off of everything.

I turned to open the door, but he grabbed my arm before I could get the door open. "You might need this," he said, unclasping my house key from my key-ring.

"Oh, yeah, that'd help, huh?" We kissed each other one more time before I exited my car and walked up the front steps.

Before I unlocked the door, I turned, watching as Edward drove off in my car. I smiled to myself and turned toward my door, but something caught my eye. There was a single rose laying on the top step with a card attached to it. I looked at it curiously and when I bent over to pick it up, a cold chill ran down my back. I had that feeling of being watched, again.

I picked up the rose and pulled the card from it. My heart sank to the pits of hell as I read it.

 _ **I miss you, sweet girl.**_

* * *

 **Anyone want more? Who do you think the rose is from?**

 **RTB**


	20. Chapter 20

**((((((******FULL LEMON ALERT-FULL LEMON ALERT******))))))**

 **FYI: I've never been to Florida. I do have a cousin that lives in Jacksonville, though. Maybe one day I'll make my way down there. It's really not far from where I live.**

 **No copy right infringement intended. SM owns all characters and I own all the mistakes.**

 **2/9/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 20**

 **BPOV**

* * *

I knew immediately who left the rose for me. There was only one person that ever called me _sweet girl._ Knowing that, only told me one thing – he was here...in Florida.

I hurriedly got inside the house, slamming the door shut and locking it before I ran up to my room. The only person that came to mind to call first, was Alice.

" _Hey, chick, why'd you leave so early?"_

"Not now, Alice. Something's happened," I said glancing around my room to make sure everything looked the same.

" _What do you mean, something's happened? Be more specific, please?"_ Alice seemed irritated with my vagueness.

I shook my head even though she couldn't see me. "Shit, sorry. Edward just dropped me off and when I walked up the steps, there was a single red rose laying there with a card attached to it."

" _What'd it say?"_

"He's here, Alice. He's come for me and I don't know what to do," I said, alarmingly, sinking down to the floor, leaning against my bed.

" _You sure it's him?"_

"Yes. It said – _I miss you, sweet girl."_ I sighed before continuing. "Alice, he's the only one who's ever called me _sweet girl._ What the fuck am I supposed to do? Should I ignore it, or what?" My mind was going a mile a minute trying to figure out the best way to approach this.

There was no way I could deal with this. I just wanted him to leave me alone. I was wracking my brain trying to figure out... _why now?_ After all these months, why would he even come for me? There was no way in hell I was going to give him a time of day. Edward was in my life now and I love him more than life itself. I refused to let Anthony try and come between us. _And why the hell was he keeping himself hidden, if he were back?_

" _I'm sorry, Bella, but I don't know. You definitely can't ignore it. I'll tell my mom and dad about it, though. Maybe mom will have a better answer for you. Just don't go outta your way to look for him. If he already knows where you live, he could be watching you. You can't ever be alone, and make sure you keep drinking that Vervain tea."_ she said, stressing to me, that staying alert was the most important thing. I needed to pay close attention to my surroundings.

''Edward should be home by now. He drove my car because I was too upset over the Rosalie bullshit, to drive. I'll have to tell you tomorrow what happened. She's definitely up to something; I can feel it in my bones," I said, getting up from where I was sitting on the floor.

I heard Alice sigh. _"Okay, well, if you're that concerned, I'll try and push my visions. In the meantime, your parents should be home shortly; we all just left. Did you lock up?"_

"Yeah, that was the first thing I did," I replied.

" _Good, because he can't come in the house unless he's invited in and the only people who can invite him in are the owners of the home. You may wanna tell your parents so they don't think that he's Edward one day and let him in and you better tell my brother as soon as he gets there in the morning. I'm riding with Jasper, so I'll see you at school. Everything will be okay, Bella. We'll figure something out."_ We finished our call, but I couldn't stop thinking about the best way to get him to not come any closer.

I'd have to make sure to tell mom and Phil as soon as I got both of them together the next day. If they knew the real reason behind the way he found me, they'd flip out.

I felt defeated at that moment. _Why?_ I didn't know. The rose had to be from him. No one else ever called me _sweet girl_ and the thought caused my stomach to churn.

All I wanted to do was go about my life and pretend that Anthony never existed, but I knew that wouldn't be the case. He was here for a reason and that reason would have to be to get to me. I'd do everything I possibly could to stay away from him.

As I walked around my room, I approached my window, making sure it was locked before looking out over the yard and the surrounding houses. I did the same with my balcony door, but paused for a few minutes, wondering if he was out there watching me. I searched for his familiar face, but I didn't see any sign of him and that made me feel at ease, momentarily.

The next morning, I woke up after only a few hours of sleep. Anthony kept plaguing my dreams the whole night. He was vicious and evil with every word he said. I had to shake my head to get the memories of those dreams to disappear.

I wasn't sure how I was going to endure the day, but I knew one thing for sure, being around Edward would calm me and once I told him about the rose and my dreams, I'd feel a whole lot better. He'd be mad as hell, but I couldn't _not_ tell him. That was a promise I wouldn't break. Much like any other promise I made to him.

At seven-thirty on the dot, I heard the doorbell, faintly, ring. I knew it was Edward. My mom or Phil would let him in.

I had just stepped out of the shower and was wrapped in a towel when I opened the door to the bathroom. There was a knock on my door as it was pushed open, "Bella?"

Edward stuck his head around the door and spied me. A huge smile crossed his face when he saw me. "Hey, you."

"Hey, yourself." He stepped into my room, shutting the door. I heard the lock click, "I guess I'm right on time."

"For what?" I stepped over to my dresser and pulled out my bra and panties.

Edward chuckled. "To see you naked, of course."

"Ha, ha, very funny. I'll be dressed in just a few minutes," I retorted, walking toward my walk-in closet.

I stepped inside with Edward trailing me. Before I could shut the door, he pushed his way inside, shutting the door behind him. He stalked toward me, pressing my back to the wall in seconds. "Drop the towel."

"Edward, what if my mom comes up here?" He smiled down at me, deviously.

"Her and Phil were leaving as I came in. It's just you and me, baby," he said, leaning down, sucking some skin from my neck, into his mouth.

I giggled, "You bad, bad boy; coming up here to take advantage of me."

"You can't take advantage of the willing," he said, seductively.

I smiled up at him. "Let's take advantage of the moment, then."

I dropped the towel as Edward stepped back and ogled me from head to toe. He clenched his eyes shut and took a deep breath before stepping back toward me, again. "You look delicious."

"And you are delicious," I said, placing my hands on his chest and sliding them down over his stomach to undo the button on his shorts.

He lifted his right hand and placed it on my left breast, smoothing his thumb over my hardened nipple. His other hand, he lifted it, looking at his watch. "Mmm...perfect."

"What's perfect?" I asked, sighing as I finally got the button undone and started pushing his shorts down. My heart rate was starting to speed up at the mere thought of what he had in mind.

"You, first of all and second, this..." He bent down and grabbed a hold of me by the back of my thighs and lifted me until my legs were wrapped around him. My back hit the wall as we started attacking each other's mouths. I felt his hand reach down to slip a finger inside me. "Mmm...definitely wet enough."

Before I could respond, he pushed inside of me. My eyes rolled to the back of my head as he started pumping into me. My tits were bouncing in his face until he took a nipple into his mouth and sucked. I felt it all the way to my clit. "Harder," I told him as I gripped onto his shoulders for leverage. "Put me on the shelf." I was lucky to have a walk-in closet with a wooden shoe rack sturdy enough to hold me.

Edward turned me and sat me on the edge of the shelf and pulled back to watch where he was entering me. He moved in and out, really slow, a few times before he started moving faster. His hands had a tight grip on my thighs and I knew I'd be bruised before too long.

I reached up and started tweaking my nipple with one hand and used my other to stroke my clit. Edward watches every move I made. "You're so fucking dirty; I love it." He started pounding harder and his fingers were embedded into my skin. "Cum, baby; I'm about to explode."

I rubbed harder and felt my pulse begin to rise with the heat and tingling. "Oh, God. It's...It's..." He tilted his hips at a different angle and that did it. "Yes!"

"GGRRRRR..." Edward growled as he pumped deep inside of me. "You're gonna have to tell me again why we waited for this."

"Doesn't matter anymore." I pulled his face to mine and pressed my lips to his. "I love you. That's all that matters."

"It is." Then he slipped out of me and let me feet slide to the floor. My legs were like jelly as I tried to get my balance. "We're gonna be late if we don't hurry."

"That seems to be the norm with us lately."

He laughed before he turned to leave the closet. "C'mon, babe. Let's get cleaned up."

Last night popped back into my head which brought back memories of my dreams and the rose, but I pushed those thoughts away when he pushed the bathroom door open and walked inside. His cock was still hanging from his shorts as he reached for a washcloth to wet it.

I watched as he cleaned his quickly deflating cock. It still looked pretty big, width wise, while it was soft. I just shook my head and started cleaning myself up, as well.

By the time we made it to school, we had ten minutes to spare before the first bell rang. Thank goodness for his lead foot.

We were both smiling ear to ear as we quickly walked, hand in hand, across the lot. We kissed and went our separate ways. Then it hit me that I was so distracted from our play time, that I forgot to tell him about the rose.

I decided to tell him on the way home, so he wouldn't be in a foul mood all day.

I had told Alice what had happened with Rosalie and she looked just as stunned as I felt. I couldn't help but feel like she was pushing too much or trying too hard to get information out of me. That's not how you make friends and I didn't care how new she was in town. You don't push and push to get info from someone the way she'd been almost forcibly asking me about my past. It was as if she expected me to be forthcoming with all my story like she was my new found best-friend. _Nope...not gonna happen in my lifetime._

When school came to an end, for the weekend ahead, I made my way out to the parking lot. I saw Edward leaning against my car with a raving Charlotte in front of him. Her hands were flying every which way and Edward looked somewhat amused by her actions. I was lucky I didn't have to see her around school...at all.

I walked up and stood behind her and Edward continued to pretend to listen. A small smile splayed on his lips as she ranted at him. He noticed me when I walked up, but didn't say anything. I was sure he wanted me to hear what she was spewing to him.

"Please make me understand, Edward. We were only taking a break from each other, not breaking up. That was just a few months ago. I can't see how you've moved on so easily. It's like I meant nothing to you. And with a Junior, no less." Charlotte's ranting was making me yawn.

Edward stuffed his hands in his pockets, crossing his feet at his ankles. He shrugged his shoulders at her. "What'd you want me to say, Charlotte? Bella and I are together. When I didn't respond to any of your ridiculous letters over the summer, that should have been answer enough for you. We're over. Done. You need to move on. I don't even want to be friends with you. We've already been over this. You sound like a broken record."

"Edward, please? Didn't anything I said to you at the restaurant , mean something to you? All the time we spent together? The times we made love? I want to try again. I promise to change...please." I could hear her sobbing, but I didn't really care.

Edward knew I was listening and obviously didn't care if I heard. "Charlotte, I'm trying to be as nice as I can to you and _yes_ , I heard what you said at the restaurant that night. You apologized and said you loved me, but I don't love you. I was never in love with you. I love Bella. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

He pushed himself from my car and stepped around Charlotte. She huffed when she turned around and saw me standing behind her. "Now I know why you just said that. She was standing there the whole time. You didn't want to say your true feelings in front of her."

Edward wrapped his arms around me. "Hey, baby."

"Hey. What bullshit is she spouting?" I raised up on my tip toes and kissed him right in front of the glaring bitch-face.

"Excuse me, I do not spout bullshit...you trailer trash," Charlotte said, angrily, her nostrils flaring while breathing heavily.

"Whatever," I said, waving her off. "Now, step away from my car. I think some of your bullshit just splattered on it. I'll send you the car wash bill."

Charlotte stomped her foot. "EDWARD ANTHONY CULLEN!"

"I'm sorry, I don't know anyone by that name," Edward said before grasping my hand and leading me around to the passenger side of my vehicle.

We heard Charlotte let out a loud scream before she stormed away. I shook my head. Some people just didn't know when to take _no_ for an answer.

I also wondered how many more girls were going to crawl out of the shadows and try to claim him.

When we pulled up in the driveway, I knew I needed to tell him about Anthony. It was now or never. "Um...I forgot to tell you something. Actually, I didn't forget, I just didn't want you pissed off at school all day."

He looked over at me with worry. "I'm not sure if I wanna know if it's gonna piss me off."

"We promised we wouldn't keep things from each other and you have to know." I paused, thinking whether or not I should just come out and say it. "Um...last night when you dropped me off, there was a rose with a card attached to it, waiting for me."

"You sure it was for you?"

I nodded, "Yes."

"What'd the card say?" he said, gripping the steering wheel, tightly.

I lowered my head and mumbled my answer. "I miss you, sweet girl."

In my peripheral, I could see Edward's jaw clenching. He knew exactly what I was talking about. I had told Edward about Anthony calling me that when he had said it to me over the phone one time. He apologized profusely and promised to never say it again. He knew now, that I was talking about Anthony.

"He's here?" He let out a long sigh. "In Florida?"

"I'm assuming, yes," I answered in a low voice.

We were quiet. There was only the sound of our breathing within us. I didn't know what to say or do about any of it.

Edward broke the silence. "I don't know what to say except I love you and if he's here to reconcile with you, then I understand because he was your first love, but know that I'm here for you."

"What!?" From his statement, I was suddenly livid that he would say such a thing. "You actually think that I'd go back to him?! Do you honestly doubt the way I feel about you? He may have been my first love, but I was far from being _in love_ with him the way I am with you. I can't believe..."

I was cut off by Edward turning in his seat and quickly grasping my face between his hands. "Hey, hey, cut that shit out, okay. I'm sorry. I had a moment of insecurity. I know you love me. I don't doubt it one bit." He pressed his lips to mine and pulled back to look at me in the eyes. "I just don't know what I'd do if you didn't want to be with me anymore. If he's here, I know he'll try and start problems between us and we can't let that happen, okay. Promise me that we won't let that happen? We can't let anyone come between us; not him or anyone else."

Tears were pouring out of my eyes. Edward used his thumbs to wipe them away. "I promise," I whispered.

He pressed his lips to mine, pushing his tongue into my mouth. We kissed slowly for a few minutes, pouring our love, for each other, into it.

When he pulled back, he still had a look of concern on his face. "We also need to promise that any negative thing we hear from anyone and I mean anyone, we can't believe it. We just have to trust each other and talk to each other, okay. I know if he's here and wants you, he'll stop at nothing to try and get you back. I won't give you up without a fight and I believe every word Alice says about us being meant for each other."

"Okay, I promise," I said, smiling at him. "I love you, Edward, with my whole heart and soul. In the short time we've been together, I feel it, completely."

"God, I love you, too. With everything I am." He kissed me, letting out a small whimper. He pulled back, grinning from ear to ear. "And, I plan on marrying you one day and having lots of babies with you."

I scrunched up my nose. "What does _lots,_ entail?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, three, six, ten. We'll see when the time comes."

"You're unbelievable sometimes, you know that?" He pulled away from me and took the keys from the ignition, smiling like the Cheshire cat.

"Of course I know that." He quickly leaned over and pecked my lips. "C'mon, let's go grab a snack and go over our Lit notes. I don't want any last minute homework to worry about. Tomorrow's your birthday and that's all I wanna think about, after tonight."

Edward and I completed all of our homework. I left his house around ten o'clock. My curfew wasn't until midnight on weekends, but I was really tired and wanted to try and catch mom and Phil before they went to bed.

When I walked in, I could see the light on in the kitchen. I figured one of the two parental figures was in there.

As I turned the corner, I caught Phil shoving a huge bite of chocolate cake in his mouth. "Late-night snack?" I asked as I hung my keys up on the peg.

Phil licked the remaining icing off his plate, looking guilty. "Please don't tell your mom. I already had some earlier, but I couldn't help wanting more; it's so irresistible."

I giggled at him. "You're as bad as Edward over my cooking."

"Can't help it. It's so gooood," he said, groaning then turning to put his plate in the sink. "So, what've you been up to? I've hardly seen you all week."

"Eh...school. That's about it." I knew I sounded a little off with my answer, but I wasn't really sure how to bring up the Anthony situation.

He nodded, "Everything okay between you and Edward?" He rinsed his plate and turned to put it in the dishwasher.

"Everything's great." I looked down at the counter where I was standing.

Phil stepped closer and used his finger under my chin to raise my head. "You sure, kiddo? You don't seem positive."

"Yeah, we're perfect actually. Um...is mom still awake? I have something to tell you and it needs to be both of you."

"Yeah, she's up in her study reading some book about a gray guy," he said, grumbling. "I'll run up and get her."

Phil literally ran from the kitchen to get mom for our talk. I shook my head because Phil was such a great guy and I was so lucky to have him as a step-dad.

They returned shortly after. Mom hugged me when she walked through the entrance of the kitchen. "What's goin' on, baby girl? Phil said you had something to tell us."

I took a seat on one of the stools at the breakfast bar. Taking in a few deep breaths, I started to explain what happened with the rose and why I knew for a fact it was from him. I also explained that Edward and Anthony could be identical twins, and I also told them that we needed to figure out a way to distinguish the difference between the two of them. If there ever came a time that Anthony did show up at our house and try to pass himself off as Edward, we had to have a signal of some sort. "I know their eyes are a little different."

"Wow," Phil said, looking over at my mom. "We'll definitely come up with something; a password maybe. I just can't believe that they look that much alike that we'd actually mistake Anthony for Edward if he ever tried to pull something like that."

"I wonder how he found you in the first place," mom said, quizzically, scrunching her eyebrows together.

I shook my head. "Your guess is as good as mine," I said, hating the fact that I had to lie to them about all this. If they only knew the real reason behind why he was able to locate me, they'd probably think I had gone insane and have me committed.

"We'll think of something tomorrow. Right now, it's late and tomorrow's a big day for you, young lady. When Edward gets here, we'll talk more about this. Hopefully we can dodge any mistakes of identity between the two of them," Phil said, reaching up to turn the light on above the stove. It was usually left on as a nightlight for us.

I chuckled, nodding my head. "I hope you don't ever meet Anthony, but the warning is out there; a definite mistake in identity if you saw the two of them together."

We finished our conversation on our way up the stairs to our rooms. I was only going to text Edward tonight; I was completely exhausted and wanted to try and get to sleep as soon as I could.

* * *

 _ **I couldn't figure out where I was. The walls around me were plain gray brick and there were no windows. It was as if the room was spinning around me in slow motion.**_

" _ **Hello!" I called out, not sure if anyone was near enough to hear me.**_

 _ **"Can anyone hear me?!"**_

 _ **I felt a cool breeze whip against my back as I stood frozen where I was. There was someone behind me; I could feel their presence. "Why am I here?" I asked calmly, hoping the person would answer. I didn't want to turn around and see who it was.**_

" _ **You know why," came a raspy, deep voice that I recognized all too well.**_

 _ **I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to give myself some sort of protection. "You can't keep me here; they'll look for me."**_

" _ **Oh, sweet girl," he sighed. "You don't know me well enough, do you?"**_

 _ **I turned abruptly, staring into the eyes of my past. "I don't know you. I don't wanna know you. I wish I never met you," I seethed through gritted teeth at Anthony, who stood with a smirk on his face. I wanted so badly to snap his head off.**_

" _ **Oh, but you do. You love me and always will. Don't you find yourself questioning whether or not we're meant to be together?" He raised his hand to try and touch my face, but I smacked it away. "You love my touch and the way I make you feel. Stop denying me, Isabella."**_

" _ **You make me sick," I sneered at him. "Just thinking about you touching me, disgusts me."**_

 _ **He shook his head, clicking his tongue and waving his finger in my face. "Isabella, do you not remember the promise you made me?"**_

" _ **FUCK YOU!" I screamed. "GO BACK TO HELL WHERE YOU CAME FROM!"**_

 _ **He threw his head back, letting out a loud, boisterous laugh. He clapped his hands, finding something humorous. "You really don't know me at all." Then his face became murderous and stepped closer to me, grabbing my upper arms. "I'm here to collect on that promise," he said. "...and you will pay up."**_

" _ **NO!" I screamed, trying to get free of his, iron clad, grasp. "DON'T TOUCH ME!"**_

" _ **YOU WILL DO AS I SAY!" he yelled back at me, pulling me to a bed that suddenly appeared.**_

 _ **I kept struggling, but he was entirely too strong for me to break free. "You can't do this. Please, please, please don't do this."**_

 _ **I begged and pleaded with him to stop, but he threw me on the bed and was immediately above me, ripping at my clothes. He kept pushing my legs apart to get to me. I was fighting as much as I could, but he was too strong. "NO! Please! Please don't do this."**_

 _ **My body, suddenly, started shaking the closer he got to his intended destination. Just as he pulled his hard length from his pants and moved to force himself on me, I screamed, again, "NO!"**_

* * *

"Bella, wake up, baby girl, you're having a nightmare." I heard my mom say within the fog around my head.

I suddenly sat up, looking around at my surroundings. I was gasping for breath as I realized I was in my room with my mom sitting beside me. I jumped up, wrapping my arms around her. "Oh, God, mom, I couldn't get away; he was too strong."

Mom was trying to sooth me. "It's okay, baby girl, he's not here. You're home and safe."

Phil walked into my room and sat down next to mom. "Anthony?"

I felt my mom nod her head. She kept rubbing her hands up and down my back, soothingly. I was slowly calming down.

"He was...was trying to ra...ra..rape me," I stuttered as I whispered, still shaking from my nightmare.

Mom pulled back and placed her hands on my face. "He won't, honey. We won't let that happen. It was just a nightmare; we're here. The house is locked up; you're safe."

Tears were still streaming down my face. All I wanted was Edward to be here and hold me. "I'm gonna get you some water. I'll be right back," she reassured me as she stood from my bed.

When she stepped into the bathroom, Phil scooted over and pulled me into a hug. He gave me a tight squeeze. "I won't let anything happen to you. It's my duty as your step-dad to protect you and I will; I promise."

"Thank you; I know you'll protect me," I said, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand as I pulled away from our hug.

"We'll all watch out for you. You have all of us; Carlisle, Esme and I know Edward will cut a bitch to protect you," he said, giving me a small smile.

I chuckled at his attempt to make a joke. "I know. I'm lucky to have all of you in my life. I just wish dad were here."

After mom brought me the water, I got settled back into bed. Phil kissed the top of my head and told mom he would see her when she came back to bed. Mom climbed in behind me, spooning me as she wrapped her arms around me, protectively. I was soon fast to sleep in her warm embrace.

When I woke the next morning, I was still wrapped in my mom's arms, although, they seemed to be more hairy.

I felt hot breath on the back of my neck and realized that was a little too close for my own mom, to be next to me.

I turned as easy as I could, trying not to wake the person behind me.

When I got turned enough, I found a very sound asleep, Edward. I could see his eyes moving rapidly behind his lids.

His beautiful lips were slightly parted and I couldn't help reaching up and running my thumb over his bottom lip.

I couldn't believe he was actually asleep, in my bed...with me.

Mom or Phil must've called him and told him what happened so he would be here for me when I woke up.

Edward let out a low growl as I traced his eyebrows with my finger. His growl turned into a welcomed hum when I pressed my lips to his. Morning breath, be damned; I couldn't resist.

He reciprocated my kiss, pulling me closer. "You watching me sleep?"

"Mmhm..." I replied, nuzzling my face into his neck under his chin. He smelled so good and freshly showered.

"I think I could get used to this," he whispered before placing a kiss on top of my head.

I pressed my lips to his neck before asking, "Mom called you, didn't she?"

"She was worried and said you needed me. I've been here for a few hours," he explained moving his thumb in small circles on my lower back.

I kissed his neck, again. "Thank you." I pulled back, realizing he said he'd been here a few hours. "Wait a minute, what time is it?"

Edward moved his arm to look at his watch. "Twelve-thirty."

"Shit!" I hissed. "I've slept most of the day away."

"Don't worry about it. Your mom stuck her head in a few times. I'm positive, to make sure we weren't up to any funny business," he said, moving his hand down and cupping my right ass cheek. "Happy Birthday, by the way."

"Thank you," I said, loving that he was here with me. What a way to start out your seventeenth birthday; with the man you desperately loved and craved entirely.

Edward rolled to his back. "We need to get up, though. I wanna take you out to lunch, then later, your mom's planning a dinner with all of us before I whisk you away."

"Fine, but you gotta tell me where we're going," I said while I raised my arms above my head and stretched out my tired muscles.

Edward, suddenly, rolled on top of me. "I don't think so, baby." He started tickling me. "Now, get up."

"No fair," I complained.

"Way fair. Get dressed because you're sure as hell not wearing what you have on, out in public." I had on a white tank top and a pair of navy blue boy shorts.

I snickered at him. "Little possessive, are we?" I retorted, sitting up as he jumped off the bed.

He chuckled. "Are you Yoda, now? And _yes_ , unless you want me to go out in just my boxers."

"Oh, hell no," I exclaimed.

"Little possessive, are we?" He repeated my same words.

He was too funny making his point very clear, so I reluctantly, climbed out of bed and changed my clothes.

When we made it downstairs, mom was just walking out of the kitchen. "'Bout time you two woke up."

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"It's fine, sweetie." She walked up to me and hugged me. "Happy Birthday. Your dad just called. I told him you were still sleeping and I sorta filled him in on what you told us last night about he-who-must-not-be-named."

"I'm sure he was pissed," I said, walking toward the front door to leave.

Mom nodded. "Well, yeah, he didn't blow a gasket, but he was definitely pissed. Oh! He has some news for you, too, but I promised to let him tell you."

"Okay, well, we're heading out to lunch. I'm not sure when we'll be back."

Mom leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Okay, sweetie. Edward, make sure you have her back in time for dinner. Everyone should be here by six."

"No problem. We'll see you later, Renee." He then opened the door and held it open for me to go through it before him.

When we climbed into his truck, I couldn't help but look over at him. I still couldn't get over how handsome he was and how he made my heart feel. My stomach was always fluttering with butterflies. "I really hope mom hasn't gone too overboard with this birthday dinner."

"Babe, give her some credit. This is your first birthday here with her. She just wants to do something nice for you," he expressed and started the truck.

I shook my head. "I didn't mean it that way. I'm happy she's getting everyone together. I'm actually liking my birthday this year. I have you, now."

"Yeah, ya do and I can't wait until after dinner so we can escape the parentals." All I could do was smile because I was anxious to find out what he had planned for us. I only hoped we'd have some privacy because I was ready to have more than just an hour alone with my boyfriend.

We arrived at the boardwalk and he let me choose where we were having lunch. I really wasn't hungry, so I chose the same place I had met Alice.

After lunch, we decided to walk along the boardwalk. I knew he was trying to kill time until we needed to be back at the house. He wanted to make sure mom had enough time to set everything up.

We walked hand-in-hand and even stopped to ride a few rides. My favorite was the swings that flew out over the ocean. It made me feel exuberant.

When the sun started going down, Edward checked his watch and said it was time to go. I was already so tired from all the walking we did, but it had been an excellent day and I was very thankful. It kept my mind off the nightmare I had the night before. Edward hadn't asked me about it and I knew he wanted to know, but he chose to keep quiet and waited for me to open up. I'd tell him the next day; I didn't want to think about Anthony at all for the rest of my life...if I could help it.

We made it back to my house and I noticed a few extra cars in the driveway; Evan's was one of them. I only hoped Rosalie wasn't with him.

"Great," I mumbled.

"What's wrong?"

I shook my head. "Nothing...just that Evan's here and Rosalie's probably with him."

"Just ignore her. This is for you. Have fun then we'll cut outta here by eight-thirty or nine o'clock, okay," he said, encouragingly.

I nodded and reached for the door handle.

When we walked in, there was a loud, "SURPRISE!", yelled out. It actually startled me.

I glanced around to all the smiling faces in the room. It warmed my heart to have so many people care. Except one...Rosalie. She was standing next to Evan with a smirk on her face.

Alice and Jasper stood off to the side. Alice looked more excited than everyone else. She was the first one to rush to me and pull me into a hug. "Happy Birthday, bestie."

"Thank you," I said, pulling back and looking at everyone else. "Thanks, all of you. This is great."

I glanced around, noticing there was a huge banner hanging above the back patio door. There was also balloons everywhere.

All the people that mattered to me, hugged me and wished me a happy birthday, except Rosalie and that didn't bother me...at all.

We all eventually made our way to the dining room where we enjoyed a wonderful dinner, followed by a huge cake. I knew that seventeen candles wasn't a lot, but when you have to blow them out, that's a whole different story.

"Make a wish," Alice said, excitedly.

I closed my eyes and thought for a second about what I truly wanted my wish to be. I already had everything I needed except my dad. I wished he were here to celebrate with me, so I drew in a huge breath and blew; wishing I could see my dad sooner rather than later.

Around eight-forty, Edward and I got the all clear to leave. We didn't get a chance to talk about what happened or make up a password to use. I was too excited about having time alone, away from everyone, with Edward.

"Since it's your birthday, you've got until one o'clock. No later; got me, Edward?" My mom...always the parental card player.

Edward smiled and nodded. "Gotcha. She'll be home on time...I promise."

He seemed excited to get me alone and I couldn't say that I blamed him. I wanted to be alone with him, too.

We drove for about fifteen minutes before Edward pulled into an empty parking lot at the beach. I looked over at him, wondering what he was up to. "The beach?"

"Yeah, c'mon. I have something to show you," he said, encouragingly. He hopped out of the truck and made his way around to my side and opened the door for me. _Who said chivalry was dead? Not with my man._

I only hoped he didn't blind fold me. I hated trying to walk and not being able to see. That's why I never liked playing _Pin the Tail On the Donkey._

He grabbed my hand and started pulling me through the sand, making our way through some huge boulders. We stepped into a small clearing in the middle of them. "What the..."

"You like it?" He was beaming at his small creation.

"How'd you do this?" There were about ten lanterns placed around an air mattress; pillows and blankets adorning it. Flowers were set between each of them. I noticed a small cooler was set off to the side with a small speaker on top. It was all beautiful and made me want to cry.

He wrapped his arms around me and smiled. "I had help. This is part of a private beach that Jasper's parents own. Their house is just up over that hill." He gestured behind us and I could see the lights from the house shining through the palm trees. "He knew I wanted to do something special, so he offered his assistance and set this up for us."

"It's perfect." I was so damn happy. This was absolutely amazing.

"I just...I wanted some privacy with you. We don't have to do anything. We can just lay and look up at the stars if that's what you want." He appeared nervous and seemed more in check with his restiveness.

I placed my hands on his chest and looked up at him. He was so handsome with his mile wide smile. "I was hoping we'd have some privacy, too." I let out a stuttering breath. "I am so ready to be with you and not have to rush." I palmed him through is khaki shorts.

Edward closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It all felt right. All of it. Right time, right place, right person, and the right reasons.

I took his hand and laced our fingers together, leading him over to the make-shift bed. "C'mon, it's just us."

"Hold on a sec, I wanna turn some on." He pulled his phone from his pocket and set up his music app to play from Bluetooth into the speaker. A smile broke out over his face when he saw my facial expression at who came through the speakers.

Nora Jones' - _Turn Me On,_ began to play. He knew how much I loved her music and her voice was inviting.

Edward stepped back over to where I was and wrapped his arms around my waist. He began swaying us to the music. It was sexy as hell how we were grinding ourselves together. We were, slowly, dirty dancing. His leg was between mine while he kissed up and down my neck. His hands wandered my entire upper body.

As the music kept playing, we continued our foreplay with each other. His list he picked turned out to be a mix of different music. Elvis' – _I Can't Help Falling In Love With You,_ was when we began to undress each other. Percy Sledge's – _When A Man Loves A Woman_ , led us to the bed, where Edward pulled the covers back before laying me down and sliding in next to me.

Peter Frampton's – _Baby I Love Your Way_ , brought him laying halfway on top of me; one of his legs was between mine. I could feel his hardness pressed against my thigh as he leaned on one arm. His other hand, slowly, swept across my chest as he watched as each nipple pebbled. He then began to kiss over the skin on my chest and up around my neck, settling on my lips. Everything was going very slowly, but I wouldn't want it any other way.

My fingers were threaded through his hair as we kissed. Our tongues were slowly dancing with each other to the music that was playing in the background.

As Roberta Flack's – _The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face_ , began to play, he pulled back, opening his eyes and looked into mine. "I love you," he whispered and lowered his head and pressed his lips to mine, softly and chastely.

"I love you, too. More than anything." We continued looking into each other's eyes as he smoothed this hands down my body and settled between my legs. He slipped a finger between my wet lips.

He continued looking at me and I could see the love pouring from him. I could see tears forming in the corner of his eyes. "I feel like I've waited for you my whole life. I love you and I'll never stop."

"I love you, too. Make love to me, Edward," I whispered before pulling his head down and capturing his lips with mine. He moved his body to where he was positioned between my legs. I raised my knees and nestled them close to his sides.

Roberta continued singing in the background as Edward reached down and aligned himself with my entrance. He began easing himself into me. I felt myself constrict around him as a burning sensation started. I felt a slight pinch as if I was losing my virginity all over again. "You're so damn tight."

I took a deep breath and smiled up at him. "I'm just a tad sore from yesterday and the day before."

I felt myself stretch as he pushed all the way in. I couldn't help the painful whimper that escaped me. Yeah, it stung, but I knew my body was completely welcoming to him. It'd been a while since I'd had this much sex.

When we were completely pelvis to pelvis, I began to feel a pulsing around us. It was like standing next to the speakers at a rock concert except there was no loud music. It was hard to explain...it was a pulse, plain and simple. "You feel that?" He asked, holding still as I adjusted to him being inside of me.

"Yeah, what is it?" I wasn't sure what the pulse was, but it was weird. _Did everyone_ _experience what we were experiencing?_

"I'm not sure, but it's weird," he said before lowering his head and pressing his lips to mine. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "I'm fine."

Edward began slowly pulling out, but not completely before he pushed back in. I felt like I stretched more and more as he eased his hand down and lifted my knee over his hip. He found a steady rhythm before he slipped his arms underneath my armpits and hooked his hands over my shoulders. His mouth found mine and pushed his tongue into my mouth. Our kisses were broken between deep breaths as he began to speed up.

"Oh, God, this is amazing," he said, going a little faster. I wasn't sure if I could last much longer, but I felt the impending feeling of an orgasm approaching.

I raised my legs up and opened them wider. That gave him more room to push further into me. I thought he was all the way in, but he wasn't. The moment he drove a little harder into me, I felt it. I nearly screamed as he pivoted his hips, adding more pressure between my legs. He hooked an arm under one of my knees, again much like he did before. I was surprised he was lasting as long as he was. He usually came by now, but I was definitely not complaining.

"I'm gonna cum, Edward. Oh, God, I'm gonna cum. I feel it. Go a little faster," I begged, wrapping my arms around him, under his arms and gripping his shoulders for leverage. The pulsing that we were feeling before was starting to intensify with his movements. I was trying to block it out, but then, it started to hum.

"Shit, baby, I'm..." He didn't finish his sentence because he tensed up and stilled his movements. The pulsing that started to hum was now causing the bed to vibrate as he came inside of me. I sure as hell didn't know what was going on, but I wasn't about to ruin the moment by asking about it.

With each stream he emptied inside of me, I felt him pulse. And the odd thing about the whole thing, each time he pulsed, so did the odd atmosphere around us. The only word that came to mind at that moment was...electric.

After a few long minutes of us breathing heavily, the pulsing began to fade. His face was buried in the crook of my neck. I ran my fingers through his hair and over his back, loving the way he felt between my legs.

He, reluctantly, moved to one side, pulling me to lay halfway on his chest. I pulled the blanket over the top of us before I spread my hand over his skin. "You okay?"

"I'm perfect," I answered. "Better than ever. Thank you for making this special for both of us."

"You're welcome," he said, running his fingers through my hair. "Sorry I didn't last longer."

I kissed his chest. "Don't worry about it, honey. It's definitely not our one and only time together. I'm sure it'll get a whole lot better from here on out."

"You better count on it. And what the hell was all that electric pulsing shit? Is that supposed to happen? Maybe it's because we're down by the water? It was freakin' weird as hell," he stressed, running his fingers up and down my arm.

I chuckled. "Your guess is as good as mine. I have no clue what it was. Maybe there's an electric transformer around here somewhere and we're just close enough to feel the electric pulses from it."

"Babe, there aren't any light poles around here," he said. "Maybe Alice put some kind of voodoo hex on us or something."

I knew he was only joking. Alice would never do anything like that to us. "Nah, I think she'd tell me if she did anything."

He kissed the top of my head. "Move for a sec. I made sure to pack some wash cloths so we could clean up. I'm just gonna grab one."

He climbed off the bed and pulled a zip-loc baggie from his backpack that was sitting next to the cooler. When he handed it to me, it was already wet. When I pulled the cloth away from wiping myself off, there was a little blood. I figured it had to be from his size. Twice now, I've seen a little blood and I couldn't make heads or tails as to why. I could have sworn that when I had sex with Anthony for my very first time, I was never going to stop bleeding. There had to be a reason. I huffed with confusion. "What the hell?"

Edward glanced at me for a second. "What's the matter?" He opened the cooler. "Did you want something to drink? I could use some water," he said, handing me a bottle of water.

I was still cleaning myself when he slipped behind a boulder. "Let me go piss," he said before he was out of my line of sight.

I tossed the washcloth over by his backpack and laid back down only to pull the blanket up over my chest. He walked back around and before he climbed back onto our make-shift bed, he pulled on his boxers. "We still have two hours before you have to be home. You wanna stay here or go somewhere else?"

He bent over and grabbed his bottle of water from the cooler and climbed back on the bed, under the blanket with me. "Stay here. I think I wanna do that, again, before I have to be home." I smiled at him, noticing his eyes go wide.

"Seriously?" I nodded.

"It's weird," I said as I curled into his side.

"What's weird?"

"We've had sex how many times now and when I wiped myself off, there was blood on the rag. And it hurt like it was my first time, but not too bad."

"That's definitely weird. I have no clue."

We had sex three more times before I had to be home. I was so damn sore and told Edward my crotch was off limits for at least two days. The electric pulsing sound returned, but we ignored it as much as we could. We still didn't know where it came from and it stumped us as to why it was happening. If it continued, we might have to ask his mom and that was something I didn't want to do.

I couldn't have asked for a better birthday.

* * *

 **Happy Birthday to her!**

 **Okay, I'm ready for the questions to start pouring in. What's the humming and pulsing they're experiencing?**

 **I can't tell you. It's very vital to the main plot of this story.**

 **There's more on the way. I have the whole weekend ahead of me.**

 **RTB**


	21. Chapter 21

**((((((*****There's some fluff ahead.*****))))))**

 **No copy right infringement intended. SM owns all characters. I own all the mistakes.**

 **2/9/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 21**

 **EPOV**

* * *

Bella's birthday had turned out like nothing I could have ever imagined. I was glad I was able to make it special for her. The whole experience was literally electrifying beyond belief. We still couldn't figure out what the vibrating hum was that surrounded us. I knew there was only one person I could talk to about it...was my mom.

I had gotten Bella home before her curfew and headed home with the biggest smile on my face. Everyone was already in bed when I walked in. I needed to shower, but Bella's smell was all over me and I wanted to remember our night just a little longer. It was like it was our first time all over again and the few other times we'd been together never happened.

The next morning, I walked into the kitchen and my mom was hovering over the stove making some kind of breakfast. "Morning, honey. You and Bella have a good night last night?"

"Yeah, we did. It was...unbelievable," I said as I sat down at the table. She walked over and gave me a small kiss on my cheek.

She looked at me quizzically. "You look different this morning. You do something different with your hair?"

I shook my head. "No, just extremely happy, that's all."

"I can see that. You want some breakfast? I made some sausage gravy and biscuits." I told her yes and she stepped back over to the stove and began plating up some food. "One or two biscuits?"

"Two; I'm starving," I replied, getting up to grab the juice from the fridge.

Mom sat my plate down and grabbed the jelly because she knew I loved to have it with my gravy and biscuits. It's just something about the salty and sweet of it that I love.

I was contemplating whether or not I should ask her about what happened, and I knew she was the only one who could answer me. I hoped Bella wouldn't kick my ass for bringing it up to my mom of all people, but I needed to know, so I drew in a deep breath after I swallowed my first bite.

"Um...I need to talk to you about something," I said. "Something happened last night and you're the only person I can talk to about this considering you're a witch and all." I smiled up at her knowing how weird it sounded calling her a witch, so I started with how our night began. She was listening attentively as I tried to explain what happened. I didn't give her every detail. That would've been too much, even for me, to handle. "We've been intimate before and it never happened. I don't know what's happened."

"First of all, please tell me you two were careful. I'm happy you two are together and she's definitely the right girl for you. Bella's perfect, but an unplanned pregnancy isn't something you two need right now." She smiled lightly as she talked and patted my hand. "I know you love each other and I won't sit here and chastise you two for not waiting until you're married. Your father and I didn't and I don't want to be one of those hypocritical parents. Being safe is critical, though; you're both still in school and so young."

"I know and she's on the pill. Her mom suggested it when she noticed we were getting serious," I explained. She nodded her understanding.

She sighed. "Honey, the pill isn't 100%, so let's hope she takes her pill like she's supposed to and I'm gonna suggest you use condoms."

I nodded, letting her know that I heard her, but honestly, I probably wouldn't use a condom after already experiencing sex without one.

"Now, as far as this vibrating, humming feeling you experienced last night, I'm not sure. I haven't heard of anything like that before, but I assure you, I'll be reading some of my books to find out. It could be something so ancient that hasn't happened in a long time. Maybe a hundred or more years," she said before standing up from the table.

I thought for a minute and something came to mind. "Hey, you think maybe it has something to do with the fact that you're a witch and I'm your son?"

"I'm not sure. I've never heard of a female witch passing her gifts on to her son. It's always been the female offspring that inherit the powers if the mother is a witch and vice-versa. If your dad was a Warlock then you would've more than likely inherited it from him," she explained, still looking quizzically at me. "I'll do a lot of reading and get back to you."

"Okay, thanks mom and thanks for not lecturing me too much about mine and Bella's personal life. I'm sure she's already gonna kill me for even talking to you about it. She's very private about stuff like that around other people."

"You're welcome, honey. Do you two have plans today?" She asked, putting the remainder of the breakfast into storage containers.

I nodded, getting up from the table to take my empty plate to the sink. "Yeah, we're just having a lazy day. Alice and Jasper were gonna come over, too, but I guess they had plans."

"Okay, well, I'll be here if you need me. I'll start reading while I wait between loads of laundry," she said, putting the food into the fridge. "Your dad's out doing some manly stuff. Who knows what. He probably dragged Phil and Evan along."

An hour later I was at Bella's house. We had changed as soon as I got there and were lounging by the pool. It was a perfectly warm day for September, which wasn't unusual.

Bella and I couldn't stop touching each other as we swam around the pool. The way she looked at me every few minutes told me she thought about the night before. To be honest, it was all I was thinking about and couldn't wait to do it again.

Sometime around noon, her mom came out and brought us some lunch. I noticed Bella looked a little nervous and apprehensive like she had something to say, but didn't know how to say it.

As we loaded food onto our plates, she immediately began to eat and kept looking up at me through her eyelashes. After a few bites, she cleared her throat. "Um...I never did tell you about my dream."

"You don't have to; it was just a dream, right?" I said, shoving a piece of pineapple into my mouth.

She nodded. "Yeah, but I want you to know."

"Okay," I agreed. "Then tell me."

She proceeded to tell me about her dream. I was dumbfounded and a little freaked, so I grabbed her hand and pulled her over to sit on my lap. "Well, it sucks for him because he can't have what he doesn't have anymore. I've suffiently marked my territory on you." I pressed a kiss to her neck. "Speaking of...how's things feeling down there?"

"Fine; just a little sore," she admitted, although I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was ready for more.

"Since we're having a little heart to heart about stuff, I have something to tell you, too," I said, smiling at her shyly. "I talked to my mom this morning. I wanted to know if maybe she knew anything about what we felt last night with the vibrating and humming sound."

She hopped off my lap. "Edward, you talked to your mom about us; about what we did?"

"Baby, don't blow this way too out of proportion. She won't say anything, okay. Plus, she's gonna do some reading and see if she can find out what that might have been." I reached out for her hand. "Come back over here."

She sat back on my lap and wrapped one arm around my neck. "Well, I guess both our moms know, then. Mom noticed as soon as I walked into the kitchen this morning. It was like I had a freakin' billboard across my forehead that you and I have been having sex."

"She had to know it would happen sooner or later. Mom lectured me about being safe and suggested that we use condoms," I said, kissing her neck up to her ear.

She leaned her head to the side to give me better access. "Do you wanna use condoms? I take my pill on time every day."

"After not using any, I don't think I want to. Just keep taking that pill religiously, okay, then we won't have anything to worry about." I continued kissing along her neck and over her chest. I snuck a finger inside her bikini top and brushed it over her nipple. It hardened the moment I touched it causing her to moan.

"Edward," she moaned. "You need to stop. My mom's right inside. What if she sees us?"

"As much as I want to take you right here, I won't. And just so you know, I want more. I'm addicted to you," I said, giving her nipple a little pinch then rubbing my thumb over her pebbled peak.

She chuckled at me. "Typical male."

I stayed for dinner and left for home around ten. We had school the next day and I was pretty tired from a full day of swimming.

On Thursday night, my parents had dinner plans with Bella's parents. I was already at her house when they left. As soon as they pulled out of the driveway, we took full advantage of the quiet house.

We couldn't get our clothes off fast enough.

As soon as I pushed inside Bella, I was in pure bliss. "I'll never get tired of this feeling."

Our first round was rushed but satisfying. Then round two was slower with more passion and a couple of different positions.

Satisfaction was apparent on our faces.

I released her legs and flopped down on the bed beside her. "I guess we were both pretty eager for that, huh?"

"Mhm..." She hummed. I rolled to my side, looking at the love of my life. "SIX times a charm. I didn't know you were so...dirty. It's almost like you've done this before."

"First of all, more than a charm, baby," I retorted. "It was fuckin' awesome. Secondly, you're the only real experience I have, remember? I'm not counting Charlotte because she was, I don't know...blah. A dead lay after our first time. Plus, all I'm going by is what I want to do with you."

She playfully smacked my chest. "I'm willing on all counts." She sat up and grabbed my hand. "C'mon, let's clean up and go watch a movie."

We were halfway through the movie that we were barely watching because we couldn't keep our hands to ourselves, when her parents came home. I hopped up and was putting a DVD back on the shelf when Phil came in. "Hey, kids."

"Hey, Phil," we both replied. Bella sat up on the couch and turned to look at him. "Good dinner?"

"Yeah, we had Mexican. You guys need to come next time. I think you'd like it," Phil said, flopping down on the couch next to Bella.

I made my way back over to the couch. "That's cool. My parents come back with you?"

"No, they headed home. Your dad needed to get packed for our first away game tomorrow night. He wanted to be there for me and Evan. I'm lucky Renee packs for me or else I'd be left just wearing my boxers," he explained.

Bella and I both laughed. "Where's mom?" Bella asked, looking concerned for a moment. "She's usually trailing behind you when you get home."

Phil's face faltered. "Um...she was putting away the leftovers and needed to go to the bathroom." I had a feeling something happened.

Bella nodded her head then looked over at me. "Edward, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure." We got up and walked out to the kitchen. "What's up?"

"I need to go make sure my mom's okay. I think she started her period while they were out. You're more than welcome to hang with Phil, if you want 'cause I don't know how long I'll be."

"It's okay; I'll just head home. I understand you need to be there for her." I placed a lingering kiss on her lips then pulled away. "I'll see you in the morning; I'm driving."

"I'm never driving, again, am I?"

I shook my head. "Nope, not since Anthony left his calling card for you; not gonna happen."

It was ten o'clock anyway, so I was only leaving a half hour early.

"Fine, I'll call you before I go to bed," she said, gesturing us toward the front door. When we got there, I leaned down and placed a long, lingering kiss on her lips. When I pulled away, she pulled my head down and placed her mouth on my neck. I felt her suck some skin into her mouth. I knew she was leaving a mark on me; I didn't care one bit. It wasn't often she did it, in the first place. I was the one usually leaving hickeys all over her.

"I love you. Please, drive safe," she said, pleadingly.

"I will. I love you, too," I said, swatting her ass as she turned to walk toward the stairs.

When I got home, I showered and made sure all my stuff was together for school the next day. I had a new pep to my step that I was sure anyone could notice. Jasper would probably be the first to question me about it since he was the one who helped me out with setting up our rendezvous spot. He knew we were having sex, but our experience the night before was one for the record books. I wouldn't lie to him, but I wasn't going into any details. Those were for me and Bella alone.

Before I settled into bed, I was thinking about Bella's mom. I knew her and Phil had been trying for a couple of months, to get pregnant. From what Bella had told me, Alice had a vision about them having a baby and now it would only be a matter of time. I only hoped they didn't have to wait too long.

Bella called me around eleven-thirty. Her talk with her mom must've been a long one. We didn't talk for long and I made sure I told her how much I loved her. She returned the sentiment before we hung up.

I laid back and thought about our night and how much I'm gonna love being with her even more. Yeah, that sounds like a guy thing to say, but I'm so in love with her that my heart feels like it literally skips a beat every time I'm with her.

Then it dawned on me. The vibrating and humming wasn't quite so noticeable this time around. With it being a different location than the last time we were intimate, I knew it had to do with us being together. I just didn't realize it would be that intense with each other. There was definitely something causing it and I only hoped my mom could figure it out.

* * *

 **I think I can get one more out tonight.**

 **RTB**


	22. Chapter 22

**((((((*****Yup...more fondling going on.*****))))))**

 **No copy right infringement intended. SM owns all characters and I own all mistakes.**

 **2/9/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 22**

 **BPOV**

* * *

After Edward left, I poked my head inside the living room to let Phil know I was going to talk to mom. When I walked into their bedroom, mom was sitting on the bed. I could tell she had been crying. We hugged and cried some more. She kept reassuring me she was okay and it was only their second month at trying for a baby. I wasn't sure when it would happen, but I knew from what Alice told me, it would be anytime up to a few months away.

It was definitely going to happen, but I couldn't tell her what I knew without outing Alice as being a witch.

I climbed into bed, close to eleven thirty after my talk with my mom. I made a quick phone call to Edward to let him know that I loved him and would see him the next day. He asked about my mom, too, and I gave him a quick rundown of my conversation with her. He kept reassuring me that everything would be okay and how lucky my mom was to have me to turn to when she needed a shoulder to cry on. He couldn't tell me enough how much he loved me and he felt like something was missing every time he drove away from me to go home. I felt the same way – the other half of my soul.

The weeks started flying by. Edward and I were completely inseparable. Every chance we got, we were in each other pants. The man was definitely horny all the time and I was just as bad. One look and we were stripping our clothes off and going at it. That was only if we were alone or could find some privacy. I came to learn that he hated when my period came.

Halloween approached and Alice had a huge party planned. It was the best ever because we used the thousand dollars that I won in the bet against Jessica. To say she was livid about the whole thing, would be an understatement. I was surprised she paid me.

We ended up inviting her, having everyone thank her for providing the funds to pull off such a great party. Some would say that was rude of us, but oh well, she had it coming.

We had a costume contest which our parents were the judges so we couldn't be accused of being biased or favoritism. Sydney and his girlfriend ended up winning. Their costumes were simple, from the Renaissance era, which was what our parents were looking for...something classic.

Thanksgiving was fast approaching and mom planned to have everyone over. Edward's grandparents along with Phil's parents were going to be with us, as well. It was going to be a house full of people and that was the way my mom loved it.

My dad will be with us, too. The most exciting thing also happened. When I called my dad back, after my birthday, I finally got my birthday wish. He had put in for a transfer just before my birthday and when he flies in for Thanksgiving, he's not going back. He would be staying with us until he found a house. He wanted to live close by and I was beyond happy with the news.

Another thing that's been very promising; there hasn't been any more signs of Anthony, which by all means, I'm highly grateful. I don't know what he's up to, but we don't talk about him. I'm still curious as to why he hasn't made his presence known. That's what scares me the most. He's being too quiet and too hidden which means he's drawing up plans for something; biding his time for whatever sick game he's planning on playing with me. I'm never left alone, though. There's always someone with me regardless of where we are or what we're doing. I promised to cooperate and not be a stubborn mule about being safe.

It was Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. Edward and I were at the airport waiting for my dad's flight to land. We arrived too early, but I was so excited to see him. Phone calls weren't enough anymore and having my dad close by only meant my life was finally complete. My entire family will be within a close proximity and I could see, both my mom and dad, anytime I wanted.

When it was time for his flight to arrive, I was bouncing on the balls of my feet trying to see over all the people heading our way. It sucked that we couldn't meet him at the gate.

As soon as I saw him, when he stepped around the security checkpoint, I ran and launched myself at him. "Daddy, I'm so happy you're here." I was crying from happiness.

"Miss me a little, baby girl?"

"More than you know and now I can see you anytime I want," I said, putting my feet back on the floor and looking up at him.

Edward stood off to the side watching us with a huge smile on his face. He knew how much I missed my dad and wanted him close by.

"Hey, Edward, good to see you," dad said as he extended his hand out to him.

"Good to see you, too, sir," Edward responded.

Dad chuckled. "You can call me Charlie. No need for formalities."

"Let's get your luggage and get home. Mom probably has a feast waiting for us." I wrapped my arms around my dad's waist as we walked; his arm draped across my shoulders.

We collected his two huge suitcases and headed to my car. Edward was driving, as usual, with my dad in the passenger seat. I couldn't help the smile that was plastered on my face the whole ride home.

Forty-five minutes later, with all the airport traffic, we finally arrived at my house. Mom and Phil came out to greet us and help with dad's luggage.

Mom embraced dad into a tight hug while Phil and Edward pulled his suitcases from the back of the Xterra. Phil walked up and gave dad a one armed hug. "Good to see ya, Charlie. It's gonna be real nice having you around here to help me tame these girls."

"It's good to be here, Phil. I'm just sorry it took so long to get down here," Dad expressed as we walked toward the front door.

"C'mon, Edward, help me get Charlie's stuff upstairs, then we can all eat," Phil said as he passed Edward, making his way up the stairs.

They disappeared as I walked into the kitchen with mom. My whole family under one roof, again, was a great feeling.

"It's great to have your dad here. I'm glad he finally decided to move," Mom said as we began sitting all the food on the table.

I nodded in response. "It is great." I sat the basket of rolls down. "What time is everyone showing up tomorrow?"

"Dinner's at two, but I told Carlisle and Esme that they could come anytime; Esme wanted to help cook. She's bringing a few desserts that Alice helped with," she explained as we continued setting the table.

All three men, came back down and we settled in to eat.

Edward left a couple of hours later after we caught up some with my dad. Before I snuggled into bed, I texted Edward, telling him I loved him and couldn't wait to see him the next day. I couldn't be any more in love with him. We've had little spats of disagreements, but we haven't let them escalate beyond that. I knew that one day we'll end up having a fight that'll go into the record books; what couple doesn't, but I only hoped it didn't happen for a long, long time.

I woke up with a huge smile on my face. It was going to be a great day and I couldn't wait to get it started.

My immediate and extended family were all going to be with us. I couldn't be more happier about my decision to move here.

The house was full of chatter by twelve o'clock when Carlisle, Esme, Alice and Edward showed up. Edward's grandparents and Phil's parents followed them in as we greeted them all. We ushered all the men into the living room to enjoy some football on the big screen. Phil's parents were especially happy to see me, for some reason. Phil said it was because with him being the only child, I was their only granddaughter. That made me smile because my dad's parents and my mom's parents are both passed on.

Alice pulled me aside to have some girl talk, but I decided to take our talk upstairs to my room. "So, how's the baby thing coming along with your mom and Phil?" She knew all too well how it was going, but she wanted more details as far as how my mom was handling the months that she hadn't become pregnant.

I shrugged my shoulders. "After the first couple of months, she seemed to calm down some. Now it's like she's given up even trying."

"It may be sooner than what I predicted. My mom knows all about how she's had her hopes up every month, so she's gonna do a little somethin', somethin' today, to move along the process." Alice smiled over at me. She seemed to know something else, but she wasn't budging with the info.

My eyes grew wide. "Really?!" She nodded. "So, she's gonna cast a pregnancy spell on her?"

"You could call it that; a fertility booster of sorts," she explained. I was all the more happy that my mom would, hopefully, be pregnant by the end of the year.

Then, out of the blue, she blurts out, "I've decided to lose my virginity to Jasper."

"Oh, Alice," I wrapped my arms around her. "I can tell you love him; he loves you, too. He looks at you like you're his dream come true."

"I do. I love him so much. It's hard for me to see my own future, but I can every once in a while and I know he's my soul-mate," she said, pulling back from our hug. She looked so happy and completely in love.

I nodded, knowing exactly how she felt. "I know what'cha mean. I still get butterflies in my stomach every time I'm with your brother. I'm so glad you found him, though." I moved the conversation back to her, not wanting to make it all about me. "You deserve to be happy. Everyone does, except maybe Evan and Rosalie."

I shuddered at the thought of Rosalie being a permanent fixture around us.

Alice, all of a sudden, looked guilty. "What? You've seen something with her, haven't you?"

She shook her head. "Nothing of importance, but mom has a sixth sense about things and found something out about Rosalie."

"Do I even wanna know?"

"I think you might and I could kick my own ass for not even noticing and you..." She pointed at me. "Considering you've been around them before, mom's surprised you didn't notice."

"Just tell me, Alice, 'cause I try to stay as far away from Rosalie, as I possibly can. She makes my skin crawl." I shuddered, again.

Alice lowered her head, looking down at her lap. "She's a vampire."

"Holy fuckin' hell! Really?!" I exclaimed, jumping up from my bed, my eyes growing wider than saucers at her confirmation.

"Yeah," she nodded. "You potty mouth. Mom said the second time she saw Rosalie, she figured it out only because when Evan showed up at the house with her, she kept standing back behind him and when she didn't walk in with him, that's when she knew. Rosalie couldn't come in unless mom invited her."

"And she invited her in?" I asked, surprised.

Alice nodded. "Yeah, she said she gave her the benefit of the doubt because Evan seems so happy with her."

I shook my head. "This isn't good, Alice. What if she has anything to do with Anthony; what if she knows him?"

"Honestly, I don't know. Like I said, I've had some visions of her, but they weren't important; just her having conversations with various people, and some with Evan. I can't make out any of them; they seem harmless." I couldn't believe what I was hearing, and now Rosalie's persistence toward me, with all her questions, made me realize, I'm not as coherent about my surroundings.

I was dumbfounded, to say the least. "I can't believe I didn't notice. How stupid of me to not figure it out."

"Don't stress about it. Right now she seems harmless and you, my dear bestie..." She elbowed me in the ribs. "...have been really preoccupied with my brother." She wiggled her eyebrows at me.

I felt my cheeks heat up, smiling and thinking about Edward. "I know and I'm sorry we don't spend a whole lot of time together, lately."

"That's not what I'm talking about. I heard you two the other day. You're not quiet, by any means," she said, teasingly. "When did you two finally do the deed?"

I felt horrible, now, because I hadn't told her and my mom knew before she did. "I'm sorry, I didn't tell you. I just feel that what Edward and I do behind closed doors, is extremely personal."

"No worries. I'm not mad; promise. Now..." She turned, looking at me pointedly. "When?"

I smiled, thinking back to mine and Edwards first time together. "The night of his first game; when we were late getting to the restaurant. And then the night of my birthday, he made it so special. Jasper helped him out to set things up. I'm surprised he didn't say anything to you."

"Oh, he did, but I didn't know the extent of his helping hand," she retorted, shoulder bumping me.

I smiled up at her shyly. "Yeah, we've been quite the insatiable beasts since then. We can't seem to get enough of each other."

"I'm sure me and Jasper will be the same way. We can barely keep our hands off each other, as it is. He's got experience, though, and that's what scares me," she said, sadly. "He's had sex before and I'm afraid I'll suck and just lay there like a sack of flour."

I pulled her into a tight hug. "Oh, sweetie, you'll be perfect. You two'll just have to learn together what you like. And you won't just lay there unless you're a whore or he doesn't know what he's doing. That being said, you're definitely not a whore."

There was a knock at my door. "Come in." I called to whoever it was.

Edward poked his head through the door. "Hey, handsome, we're just having some girl talk."

He walked into the room. "Your mom's looking for you. She said she needed help with something that only you knew how to do. Whatever that means."

"It's probably the Hollandaise sauce. She always burns it." I stood from my bed, pulling Alice with me. "C'mon, we'll talk more later."

As we walked into the kitchen, mom was standing by the stove. I winked at Esme as I passed her. She smiled, confirming that she knew Alice had told me.

It made me giddy just thinking about it.

I stood stirring the sauce, with my mom beside me. She was preparing the turkey gravy. The sauce I was making, was for the asparagus, which I absolutely loved.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw Esme and Alice looking over at us. Esme's lips were moving, but I couldn't hear what she was saying. That only meant she was doing her fertility mo-jo.

Thanksgiving dinner turned out to be the best ever. I ate so much food that I felt like I would have popped a button on my pants at any second.

Everyone stayed for a while longer. The men watched football and the women sat around chit chatting.

Since Edward came with his parents, we didn't get to spend any alone time with each other, so I looked forward to the next few days off from school. My mom and Esme were leaving at four in the morning to go shopping. It would be Black Friday and there was no way in hell I was getting up that early just to shop. Alice tried to change my mind because she was going, too, but I wasn't giving in for no amount of bribery. I wanted my beauty sleep.

Apparently, Carlisle, Phil and my dad, were pulling Evan out with them to hit up the Sporting Goods stores. They tried to get Edward to tag along, but he was very adamant about his sleep, also.

I was having a very explicit sex dream about Edward until I realized I wasn't dreaming. He was actually in the bed with me. "Mmm...I thought I was dreaming."

He was kissing along the back of my neck and had one arm snaked around me with his hand down the front of my panties.

"Take your panties off, baby," he demanded.

"I think I like waking up like this," I said, pushing my panties down over my hips and down my legs.

Edward was already naked and still laying behind me and once my panties were gone, he hooked his arm under my knee, and lifted my leg.

"We haven't done it this way before and I wanted to try it." My legs were completely wide open and he didn't hesitate to ease himself inside me. "Fuck," he cursed. "I love the way you feel."

He began thrusting into me at a steady pace. I guess Alice was right about us not being quiet because, at that moment, all I heard was our skin slapping together and our loud moans.

Edward sped up his movements for a minute until he breathlessly uttered, "Get on all fours, baby."

I was already out of breath and close to my orgasm before he wanted to switch positions. We were lucky that no one was home.

I scrambled up onto my hands and knees, feeling Edward place his hands on my hips, pulling me back some. I leaned forward more, raising my ass further in the air.

Our tryst continued on for another ten minutes before he plopped down on the bed all out of breath. "I love you."

I dropped my head down to the mattress with my face pressed to it. "I love you, too," I said, feeling short-winded. Edward reached over and gave my ass cheeks a swat. "Jesus, you're gonna kill me," I said, turning my face to look at him.

He chuckled at me. "In that case, we can both die blissfully happy. You've spoiled me; I can't get enough of you."

We finally got out of bed and cleaned up, heading downstairs to the kitchen. After our workout, we were both starving. I made us turkey sandwiches.

A few hours later, we were laid back on the couch in the living room, reading our assigned book for our Lit class. We were supposed to have it done before we returned to school from our Thanksgiving holiday.

Everyone showed up around four o'clock. I had planned to pull out all the left overs and make up a bunch of different stuff for dinner. It took me about an hour to have it all done. The whole crew was starving from their day of shopping.

By Monday, I was undeniably happy. I felt as if my whole life was perfect. That was before Edward dropped me off at home from school.

On the step, as I walked up, there was another rose with a card, waiting for me. At first I was too afraid to see what it said, but my curiosity got the better of me, so I picked it up. After I read what it said, I dropped it like it was a ball of flames.

 _ **Thinking of you. I can't wait to see you, sweet girl.**_

* * *

 **DUN...DUN...DUN...Guess who?**

 **RTB**


	23. Chapter 23

**Let's get to it and find out what's going on.**

 **No copy right infringement intended. SM owns all characters and I own all mistakes.**

 **2/10/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 23**

 **BPOV**

* * *

My knees buckled beneath me, causing me to sit on the top step. My heart was pounding against my sternum and the only thing I could think to do was call Edward. Last time, it was Alice, but I knew that he was who I needed there and then.

" _Hi, baby. Miss me already?"_

"Edward, he left another rose," I said in a quivering voice.

" _What?!"_ I heard the blinker start clicking in the background. _"I'll be right there."_

I was still sitting on the top step when he pulled up. "Baby, why're you still outside? You should've went in and locked the door. He could be lurking around here somewhere."

Tears were pouring from my eyes. "H...he s...said, he cou...couldn't wait to see me." I took a deep breath to try and compose myself before speaking again. I was a stuttering mess. "He plans on seeing me, Edward. I can't...I can't see him."

Edward picked me up before setting me back down to unlock the door. I was back in his arms within seconds.

He took me straight to my room and laid me down on the bed, crawling in next to me. He wrapped his arms around me. "Baby, he may see you, but he won't get you. There has to be something my mom can do."

I laid quietly, pondering what the hell I would do if I ever saw Anthony again. So many things I wanted to shout at him. I wanted to hit him, but I knew if I tried, he'd only hurt me worse.

We were quiet for a while until there was a knock at my door. Edward called out for them to come in. It was my mom. "What's wrong? Is she sick?" She asked as she sat down on the bed in front of me and pushed my hair from my forehead, feeling if I had a fever.

"No, she got another rose, today." I saw Edward point to where he laid the rose and card on my dresser. I didn't even know he picked it up and brought it with him. "He says he can't wait to see her."

"Over my dead body," mom refuted. "There's no way that boy's stepping foot in this house. If any of us have anything to do with it, he can go back to where he came from.

"Yeah, hell," I finally said.

We talked a little more and came up with a password that only Edward could use if he ever showed up while my parents were home. He usually let himself in when I was alone. Edward made a commitment to always be with me or call before he came over.

He stayed until dinner. He called his mom and told her what was going on. She said she'd do some more reading in her spell books to see if she could find a way to keep him away from me. I really hoped she could find something. She was still researching the humming and vibration that happens when Edward and I are intimate. I just didn't want to be looking over my shoulder every time we were out somewhere. I had assumed that Esme was an experienced witch, but she admitted to only dabbling every once in a while. It wasn't that she and Alice didn't embrace their heritage, they just don't devote all their time to learning about their powers.

The rest of the week flew by. We were getting prepared for our end of semester finals. Christmas was coming up fast and I had no idea what I wanted to get Edward. He had bought me, for my birthday, a beautiful diamond bracelet with hearts all around it. The hearts were incrusted with tiny chips of diamonds and was white gold. I loved it and never take it off.

Our semester finals were finally out of the way and we were getting so excited about our three week Christmas break. Alice and I were planning a shopping trip to the mall. I hated that place. There were always too many people to bump elbows with.

We had one week of school left before our holiday vacation started and Esme called me and invited me over for dinner on the Friday before our last week. I went home with Edward after school which gave us some alone time before Carlisle and Esme were due home. Of course, Alice tagged along with Jasper to his house.

Our alone time consisted of major sweating, heavy breathing, heart pounding, and thrusting. Edward was getting very creative with our sexual conquest. We barely made it to the top of the stairs before he had me against the wall, slamming into me. My back and head hit the wall as he repeatedly pumped in and out. Before we were done, Edward eased us down to the floor with me straddling him. We both came with echoing moans. He rested his forehead between my breasts until we caught our breaths.

I could barely stand when it was time to get cleaned up. I could smack myself, now though, because of the way I first treated him, but he doesn't hold it against me; I was protecting my heart, he would say.

He was right, I was scared mainly because of his looks. I only see him as Edward now; the boy I wholeheartedly loved and want to spend the rest of my life with.

Edward and I were in the kitchen when Carlisle came waltzing in. "Hey, kids," he called over his shoulder as he leaned over to look inside the fridge.

"Hey, dad."

"Hi, Carlisle." I said greeting him.

"How was school?" Carlisle asked as he sat down at the table next to me.

We both shrugged our shoulders. "Eh...same shit, different day," Edward replied.

Carlisle chuckled. "Alice with Jasper?"

"Yeah, she'll be here for dinner, though," I answered.

"Good. The missus will be home shortly. She's had a long day and was stopping off at Gino's to grab a couple of pizzas. She's also got something planned for you." He patted my shoulder. "She's hopefully found a remedy to all this Anthony bullshit."

Edward and I nodded. I had faith in her, knowing she'd come up with something and I was pretty anxious to find out what it was.

I sent a quick text to my mom letting her know that I'd be having dinner at Edward's and I would be home by curfew. She replied that she loved me and she'd see me the next day.

Esme made it home about thirty minutes later with two huge pizzas and a bag with a couple of two-liter sodas. Carlisle and Edward jumped to help her before it all ended up on the floor. "Alice should be home in about ten minutes. I called her before I left Gino's." Esme said as she went around giving us all hugs. "After we eat, I'll need Edward and Bella's undivided attention."

"Okay, so I'm assuming you've come up with something to finally ward off this sick fu...freak from Bella."

Esme laughed, shaking her head. "Nice save, son and yes, I think I found something that should work out perfectly. " Like I said, I knew I had faith in her for a reason.

Once Alice arrived, we all sat and talked about our day. We talked some about how over-joyed my parents were going to be once mom became pregnant. We joked about how Phil would have a ball and mitt ready and waiting for the baby to be born. I wondered if Alice already knew if they'd be having a boy or a girl and just wasn't saying anything. It was for the best anyway. I would hate knowing and not be able to tell my mom that I knew.

I knew it was hard on Carlisle to keep all this information to himself considering Phil was his best-friend. He knew exactly how much Phil wanted a biological child of his own. I also knew that Phil already considered me as a daughter, but he wasn't around when I was a baby. He wanted to have the diaper changes, late night feedings and all the puke one could handle. I couldn't wait until mom announced her pregnancy. I didn't care if I had a brother or sister; I just wanted the baby to be happy and healthy.

After dinner, we all made our way into the living room. Edward and I sat on the love-seat waiting for his mom to approach us. When she did, she handed me a ring. It was so pretty and delicate "Never take that off. If Anthony so much as touches you or tries to feed from you, he's in for a huge shock of his life. To us, it would be like us being shocked by static electricity, but to him, it's much worse. If for any reason he did touch you and tried to endure the electric shock, he could be burned."

"Wow." Was all I could say.

"So, let me get this straight. If Anthony or any other vampire tries to touch me, they'll be shocked or burned depending on how long they kept in contact with my skin?"

Esme nodded, "Yes, except that ring also contributes to something more. If by chance a vampire does try to feed from you, it would be deadly to them."

"This is all vampires, right? Not just Rosalie or Anthony?" I had to know for sure if they were the only two we needed to keep a watch out for. Anthony was my main concern, but only until Rosalie gave me more reason to suspect her for anything else.

"Yes, because it was hard to just single Anthony out without having anything of his directly. Even in this case, if he wanted you bad enough, he could get someone else to get to you; he could compel someone to kidnap you. But as of right now, we can assume he won't do that unless he figures out what's been done. From what you told us, Bella, Anthony's maker already knows about witches and Warlocks, so it's best to just cover all bases."

I thought to myself for a moment. "Well, Marcus, Claire and Emmett did nothing wrong to me. What if they approach me in public and want a hug or something? Claire's much like you, Esme. She was always sweet and welcoming. She and Marcus didn't seem to have an evil bone in their body. Emmett was really nice, too, but looks can be deceiving." I thought back to all the times that Claire greeted me with hugs and small kisses on my cheek. The same with Marcus, but then again, they could've been the best actors in the world.

Esme shook her head. "Like I said before, honey, unless you have something that belonged to Anthony, I can't direct the spell just to him. This is where you need to put your guard up. If you do run into them somewhere, you need to make sure you stay back from them or try not to make skin to skin contact. Ignore them if you must, but if they so much as touch you, they'll know something isn't right with you."

"I hate this. I hate that you have to go through all this just to protect me. And what about the rest of the family? What if he expands his threats to you guys, or even my parents?" I couldn't help it when tears started pouring from my eyes. I felt so guilty for bringing this bullshit into their lives. "This is all my fault; I'm sorry," I expressed, dropping my head into my hands, releasing a loud sob.

Carlisle knelt down in front of me as Edward rubbed his hand up and down my back. "Bella, you're our family and there's nothing I wouldn't do for you." He pulled me into a hug. "You're my best-friends kid, so that means you're practically my kid, too."

Carlisle pulled away and stood up. Alice took his place in front me and wrapped her arms around me. "Thank you. All of you for everything you've done."

"You're my best-friend, Bella, and like my dad said, there's nothing we wouldn't do to help protect the ones we love. You're stuck with us forever," Alice said, reassuring me that no matter how badly I felt about them doing so much for me, I didn't have a choice in the matter because we were all now considered family.

We all talked a little longer and when Edward pulled into my driveway to drop me at home, he turned the ignition off and turned to face me. "Get your ring out."

I had slipped the ring into my front pocket before we left. I wasn't used to wearing jewelry and didn't think to put it on right away.

"Why?"

"You'll see," he said as I reached into the pocket of my jeans and pulled it out.

After I handed it to him, he looked at it for a few seconds before speaking. "I bought this for you. Call it an early Christmas present. Mom saw it sitting on my bed the day I got it and suggested using it for her spell." He reached for my right hand and pulled it to his lips, kissing my ring finger. "It's a promise ring. A promise that one day, I'll buy you a huge ass diamond ring and ask you to marry me. It's also a promise that I'll always be loyal to you, love you and respect you."

He slid the ring over my finger. Tears streamed over my cheeks as I looked down at the ring he had given me. "Thank you. I love it and I don't need a huge ass diamond, by the way. I like simple but elegant." I winked at him causing him to chuckle at me.

"I'll keep that in mind." We both leaned in and wrapped our arms around each other. "I love you, Bella and I always will."

"I love you, too, Edward. I promise to be loyal and respectful to you, also. You make me so happy." I pulled back from our hug and placed my hands on his cheeks. "How could I not be happy? You give the best orgasms that any girl could ask for."

He laughed, "You're the only girl I'll give 'em to, though."

I pressed my lips to his then sucked his bottom lip into my mouth, clamping down on it with my teeth. "You better," I said through my lip prison.

I released him, "Ow...damn, woman. You trying to eat me or what?"

Reaching across the console, I slipped my hand between his legs, smoothing it up the inside of his thigh. He growled at me, "Don't start something we can't finish."

"Sorry; you're so irresistible." I leaned over and gave him one more kiss.

"Okay, I'm going in. Don't forget, I'm shopping with Alice tomorrow. I'll see you afterward, though."

"I remember. Call me before you go to sleep." He kissed me, again. "Love you."

"Love you, too. Drive safe."

I got out of the truck and waved over my shoulder at him. He waited until I was inside before he left. He wanted to make sure I made it in without any incidences.

How could I not seriously love him?

As I crawled into bed that night, I had the biggest smile on my face. My life seemed so perfect, but with a flaw. That flaw being Anthony. With as much stuff that Esme was doing to try and protect me, I couldn't help but feel thankful and regretful at the same time. First the tea and now the ring I have to wear in order to keep any vampire from trying to kidnap me.

I was thankful for the life I was living and regretful that I couldn't do more to help and also, regretful for even bringing this situation with me when I moved here. I guess that's what they call baggage. Mine was Anthony, but I wasn't quite so sure how to cut the strings to it. I wanted him to be a distant memory. That's how I thought it was until that first rose showed up. All I could hope for now was, that when he does show up, which I know he will, that he doesn't make things difficult for me. That's only wishful thinking on my part.

So, I closed my eyes and moved all my thoughts to Edward. My smile was back full force which lead me into wonderful dreams of my future.

* * *

 **Damn Anthony.**

 **RTB**


	24. Chapter 24

**((((((*****Just a little fluff*****))))))**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns all characters and I own all the mistakes.**

 **2/10/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 24**

 **BPOV**

* * *

If there was one thing that I loathed more than Anthony, it would be shopping. It was utter hell. If I had the powers, I'd wave my hand and part the walkway so I didn't have to bump into one more person. I was on the verge of going postal by the time Alice and I sat down to have lunch. "Next year, can we please make sure we have all the shopping done months in advance?"

"That takes all the fun out of it, though," Alice said, biting into her chicken sandwich from Chick fil-A.

I scoffed at her. "You're having fun? You're truly insane."

"Oh, stop. I know you at least got that necklace for my brother. Which he's gonna love, by the way," she said before reaching for her drink.

"Thanks. I wasn't so sure at first. He did buy this for me." I waved my finger in front of her face. "My promise ring."

Alice looked guilty. "I saw it last night and I helped pick it out. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind, at all; I love it," I said, smiling from ear to ear.

We finished lunch before we set off to do more shopping. By the time I dropped Alice off at home, I was absolutely exhausted. I was surprised I could keep my eyes open long enough to have dinner with my mom and Phil. My dad was still at work and didn't get home until after I had already gone to bed.

I took a nice, long, hot shower before I climbed into bed. I needed to call Edward before I went to sleep, considering I hadn't seen him all day.

" _Hey, how was shopping?"_ He asked as soon as he answered the phone.

"Just glad it's all done. I hate last minute shopping; I'm so tired. I'll probably sleep most the day tomorrow. I'm due for my period, too, and that just adds to the irritation with everything," I complained, then yawned.

Edward chuckled at me. _"Yeah, you do tend to be a little bitchy before you start. I've got_ _that shit memorized."_

"So, you're telling me that you keep tabs for when I start my period?" I knew I sounded a tad bit irritated, but it was because he laughed at me.

" _Yes, baby. I know everything there is to know about you. I know it all. You name it...I_ _can tell you,"_ he replied. I didn't respond right away because, again, I was trying to hold my temper. I didn't want to be mad at him. There was no reason to be. Today just took a lot out of me.

I relented and sighed. "Just tell me you love me and can't wait to see me tomorrow."

" _I love you more than anything and I'll see you bright and early, tomorrow. I wanna take you out to breakfast; I didn't get to see you all day, today,"_ he whined and continued. _"Besides, I'm sure you'll feel a whole lot better once you get some sleep then see me tomorrow. I have an excellent cure for your crankiness."_

I knew exactly what he was talking about. "Edward, that's the last thing I'm..."

He cut me off before I could finish. _"Baby, shut up. I'm not saying as soon as I see you, tomorrow. You'll probably have my pants down to my ankles before we even back out of the driveway."_

My mouth dropped open, a horrible sound coming out. "I am not like that. You're the one that's always horny."

" _Really?"_ He chuckled.

"It's all your fault. You're the one who had your hand up my shirt, pinching my nipple. You know damn good and well what that does to me; It drives me crazy."

" _I do know and among other things that drive you crazy. Now, I love you; get some sleep and I'll see you about nine o'clock. I wanna spend the whole day with you tomorrow and I don't care what we do. I've missed you so much, today. It's not normal_ _for us to go a whole day without seeing each other."_ I definitely missed him, but in all honesty, I had a good time with Alice. Spending time with her was well deserved. We'd been so caught up with our boyfriends, that we've had to make time for one another.

I sighed before speaking. "I love you, too. I'll see you in the morning."

" _Yeah, you will. Good night, baby,"_ he said before hanging up.

As tired as I was, I still laid awake for another twenty minutes or so.

Everything kept running through my head. I'd list things off that needed to be done, then think about Edward. I'd think about all the gifts that I had bought for everyone, then think about Edward. He was like a reoccurring loop in my head. I was a love sick teenager that had the best boyfriend in the world. If I could put it up on a billboard and announce to the whole world that Edward Cullen was the best boyfriend there ever was and I loved him with my whole heart, I'd do it in heartbeat.

That night, I dreamed of a white dress, flowers and tuxedos. Eventually it morphed into Edward fondling my whole body that brought me into a sexual frenzy.

My dream of being so worked up and horny was conveyed into reality when I woke up to Edwards hand down the front of my sleep pants. He'd done it numerous times and it was the best way to wake up.

He was thrusting two fingers inside of me as I pushed my pelvis into his hand. Then I realized something very important. "Edward, my parents are home. You're crazy for even trying." I huffed and sat up in my bed, quickly. "Thanks, now I'm all worked up."

He chuckled at me then grimaced. "Yeah, well, at least you don't have to worry about anyone seeing a tent in your pants."

"Your fault," I said, whisper yelling at him, pointing my finger toward his very prominent erection. "You shouldn't have started something knowing you couldn't finish." I reached over and grabbed my bottle of water and chugged half of it. I had been so thirsty, lately.

Edward rolled to his back, growling. He smacked his hands down on the bed. "It's so hard to will this thing away." I looked down to his impressive length that was pushing out the front of his sweat pants.

"Will you take care of this for me? Please? I promise it won't take long," he begged, looking up at me with the most pitiful expression that I've seen grace his face.

I giggled at him. "Edward..."

"Please..." he continued begging, even going as far as clasping his hands together like he was praying to me.

I scrunched my eyes, peering at him. He was definitely going to pay for this later. "Fine, but let me start the shower first and we need to keep the closet door cracked open just in case my mom comes in. If she does, you better come up with something quick."

He chuckled evilly. "Oh, I will. I'll just tell her that you're in the shower and I'm picking out your clothes."

"You think of everything, don't you?"

"Yup," he responded, jumping up off the bed, heading towards my closet.

I, reluctantly, got up and made my way into the bathroom to turn the shower on. _Did I mention that he'd pay for this later?_

I walked into the closet and pushed the door until it was open a couple of inches. "Stand with your back to the door."

Edward moved to where I told him to stand then I noticed his dick was already out and ready for me. He only had the front of his sweat pants pushed down far enough to release it as he stroked himself.

I dropped to my knees and immediately took his hard length into my hand. I pumped him a few times before I licked up the underside of his shaft. Edward took a shuddering breath before he placed a hand on the back of my head.

It didn't take long just as he said it wouldn't.

When I knew he was done, I popped him out of my mouth and pulled his sweats back up as I stood. "Fuck...thank you, baby. I owe you."

"You better believe you do. You owe me two orgasms to your one, buddy." I chastised him as I walked out of the closet and towards the bathroom.

Edward stood slack-jawed as I looked over my shoulder. "Now, find me some clothes while I shower, houseboy."

As soon as I closed the bathroom door, I giggled as I stripped out of my clothes. I loved how we could mess around with each other and not take what we say, when we're joking, literally.

When I came out, Edward was gone from my room and there was a pair of sweats and a pull over hoodie, laying on the bed. There was a piece of paper draped on top with two words scrawled on it – _Easy access,_ was all it said.

I shook my head and proceeded to get dressed. I had no clue what he had planned for us today, but I was looking forward to it.

On the Wednesday before Christmas, Edward, Alice, Jasper and I, were hanging out. We decided to go see a movie and have lunch. If I knew what was going to happen, I would've stayed home.

While we were out, we ran into Evan and Rosalie. I had no clue why, but Rosalie continually sneered at me as we were sitting and eating our lunch together. I tried to ignore her the best I could. I didn't think she had a clue I knew what she was. That changed the moment she, once again, cornered me in the bathroom.

"What do you want, Rosalie?"

I wasn't afraid of her, by any means.

"Oh, nothing. Just catching up with my friend, that's all," she said, nonchalantly.

I glared at her through the mirror. "I think your friend is waiting; can you please move so I can leave?"

"Bella, you wound me," she said, snidely.

I tilted my head, giving her a sideways glance. "Why's that?" I crossed my arms over my chest. "You don't have a caring bone in your body," I said, sarcastically.

"Tsk, tsk, Bella. You're the friend I'm talking about. We haven't had a chance to have a chit-chat in a long while and I'm getting bored. Got any juicy gossip to share about Edward or can I call him Anthony?"

I straightened my stance, squaring my shoulders before I spoke. "First of all, we're far from friends and secondly, Edward and I are none of your business. Now if you'll excuse me...please."

I started to walk passed her, but she grabbed my hand, pulling me back. I started laughing when she screamed and started shaking her hand like it was on fire. I knew I just gave her the shock of her life, so I stepped closer to her, raising my hand to touch her face. She backed away and landed with a thud against the wall. "Poor, Rosalie, what's the matter?"

She kept looking at her hand like she couldn't figure out what had just happened. I couldn't thank Esme enough for this little zapping spell she cast for me. It was beyond priceless. She had done the same to the necklace that I bought Edward for Christmas. _Would it be wrong to wish she'd grab me and hold on for dear life?_

Alice came barreling into the bathroom. "What the hell happened? I heard a scream."

I chuckled, pointing over at Rosalie. "Rosalie decided she wanted to grab my arm to try and keep me from walking away from her."

It was Alice's turn to giggle. "Stupid vampires."

Rosalie's head snapped up. "What'd you just say?"

"What's wrong with your hearing? I didn't know vampires could be defective." I stepped closer to her. "We know what you are, but we have no clue why you're with Evan. You should stick to your own kind."

"Fuck you, bitch. I have no clue what he sees in you." She shook her head. "How the hell did you shock me like that?"

"Awe...who's tsking who now? Maybe that'll teach you to keep your hands to yourself. And just for your information, we all know what you are. We've known for a while. Now, why don't you tell us why you're with Evan? He doesn't deserve to be with someone like you. Evan is a nice guy and needs someone who actually has a heart." I knew she wouldn't answer my question.

It was her turn to chuckle. "You humans are so naïve and the biggest fools." She stepped towards me, looking me right in the eyes. "You're gonna go out there and tell your boyfriend that you're taking a long walk with me."

"It won't work, Rosalie. Your compelling is useless against us and unless you want Alice or myself, to tell Evan what you are, then I advise you to stay the fuck away from us. Esme and Carlisle are giving you the benefit of not doubting you to hurt their son, but me and Alice think you're up to something."

Alice stepped forward. "Are you feeding from my brother?"

Rosalie shook her head, looking down at the floor. "No, I can't compel him." She seemed remorseful. "At first I was able to, but I haven't been able to for a while now. You're a witch, aren't you?"

"I'm not at liberty to answer that question." Alice grabbed my hand. "C'mon, Bella, let's leave Vampalie to herself."

As we were making our way to the door, Rosalie called after me. "You've made a huge mistake, Bella. He's not happy at all."

"Just ignore her. I've never seen my brother more happier than when he's with you," Alice said, rolling her eyes over at me.

When we got back to the table, Evan kept looking around us. "Where's Rosalie?"

"She's still in the bathroom; girl problems." I knew if I said that, he wouldn't question us anymore. Men always shuddered at the thought of a woman and their period. Well, except maybe, Edward. He doesn't have a problem talking about it.

When Rosalie came out from the bathroom, I caught a glimpse of her hand that had grabbed me. She was babying it like she'd really hurt it. It looked a little discolored like Dumbledore's hand in _'The Half Blood Prince'_. I didn't know the spell that Esme used was supposed to leave any marks. Maybe she gripped me longer than I thought.

For the rest of our outing, Rosalie kept to herself, only whispering stuff to Evan. As much as I didn't want Evan hurt, I hoped she broke up with him, saving him from a heavier heartache down the road.

* * *

 **Poor Rosalie.**

 **RTB**


	25. Chapter 25

**We get to meet a new character this chapter, and it's Christmas time. This is just a filler; sorry if it's boring.**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns all characters and I own all the mistakes.**

 **2/10/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 25**

 **BPOV**

* * *

Christmas day was finally upon us. Everyone was gathering at Carlisle and Esme's house. My dad was especially happy. He had finally bought a house three streets up from where my mom and Phil's house was. I loved having my dad living in Florida. I still didn't see him a whole lot because his job kept him extremely busy. We made the most of it when we did see each other, though.

"Hey, baby girl, Merry Christmas," he greeted, hugging me when he walked into the living room where everyone was chatting and enjoying light snacks before the big dinner was served later. I wasn't eating much because I didn't feel too well.

The only person unaccounted for, was Evan. He hadn't arrived yet. Esme said he was having a late start. Apparently, he'd been up most the night and didn't get much sleep. I wondered if it had anything to do with Rosalie.

"Hi, Daddy; Merry Christmas. They finally let you out on good behavior over at the precinct?" I asked, jokingly.

He shrugged his shoulders as we sat down next to each other on the couch. "I'd been there since three this morning. Huge case, but I can't talk about it."

I nodded. "I know, I know." I waved my hand. "Always top secret."

"That it is." He draped his arm over the back of the couch behind me and I leaned into him. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah...great actually. I'm glad I moved here and even more happier now that you're here," I said, snaking my arm around his body to hug him.

He patted my back. "I'm glad too, baby girl." He nudged me to move. "Lean up for a sec; I gotta talk to you about something." I sat up at his request, looking at him quizzically. "I need to fly out on Wednesday to head back to Forks. The house finally sold and there's papers I need to sign and I wanted to see if maybe you wanted to come with me."

"How long will you be there?" If he was going to be there for more than two days, I'd stay home. I hated being away from Edward for more than a day.

"Just a few days." He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, again. "You don't have to come. It's just a quick trip. I just thought maybe you'd wanna get outta town for a bit."

I smiled up at him. "Can Edward come? I don't wanna be bored sitting in the hotel room. Maybe I can show him around town while you get the paperwork done."

He grumbled something under his breath before speaking. "I don't mind, but he has to share a bed with me or sleep on the floor. Maybe I can get him a cot. He's not sleeping in the same bed as my daughter."

Edward wasn't paying attention to our conversation because he was watching a game on the TV, but when my dad said he'd have to share a bed with him, he heard that. "Who's sharing a bed with whom?"

"My dad needs to go back to Forks for a few days to sign some papers for the sale of his house. I asked if you could come and he doesn't mind, but you'd have to share a bed with him or sleep on a cot or even the floor; my bed's off limits," I explained, looking up at him. I smiled, hoping he'd agree to come along.

He smiled back at me. "I'd love to come, but I'm not sleeping with your dad; that's just wrong."

My dad faked hurt, placing a hand to his chest. "Hey, I don't snore, I'll have you know." Then he chuckled. "Although it's been a while since I've laid next to a warm body. Sure you don't wanna share a bed?" He asked jokingly, waggling his eyebrows at Edward.

"Um...no, thank you. I'm sure the cot will be just fine," Edward retorted, grimacing at the thought of sharing a bed with my dad. "I'm sure my parents will say it's okay, but let me ask."

I looked at him funny. "Edward, you're eighteen, why do you have to ask?"

"Common courtesy, baby. I still live in their house, so I guess old habits are hard to break," he explained. I nodded, understanding what he meant.

"You're a good kid, Edward." My dad reached over behind me and patted Edward's shoulder. "Just keep my daughter happy and we'll be fine."

Edward smiled, nodding his head. "No problem there, sir. Her happiness is my top priority."

We continued sitting around. Eventually opening gifts. Edward loved the necklace I got him. It was a white gold chain that had interlocking rings. One ring said _**Love**_ and the other said _**Forever**_ **.** Edward also got a necklace for me that was similar to his. Although, mine had diamonds throughout the rings. Alice had a mischievous look on her face. She probably had everything to do with our gifts almost matching.

My parents and Phil chipped in together and got a bunch of new accessories for my Xterra. New rims and tires, some seat covers and a new stereo system. Of course it was one of the best brands, according to Phil. I had never heard of them before, but all the components had the words _**Rockford Fosgate**_ _,_ written on them. All I knew was, that shit sounded good in my newly pimped out ride.

Edward was a little jealous and said his truck would be parked from now on so he could drive my Xterra every day. He was too funny, but he also knew that I'd let him drive anytime he wanted to.

The Wednesday we were due to fly out for our trip to Forks, didn't start out so well. I woke up abruptly, around four in the morning, making a mad dash to the bathroom. I barely made it to the toilet to throw up.

I was feeling worse than what I was the few days prior. It was probably the flu and that sucked because I wanted to take Edward around and show him Forks.

On the way to the airport, Dad stopped and bought some _Dramamine_ for me. It worked for the most part, but made me tired as hell. I slept the entire flight to Seattle. Thank goodness Dad booked us a room for the night before we drove to Forks. I wasn't sure the three and a half hour drive would do so well with my stomach. Dad kept apologizing even though it wasn't his fault, I was so sick.

Edward kept pampering me, jumping up every time I needed something. That night, my dad let it slide by letting Edward sleep next to me. I didn't want Edward to get sick, but my dad knew Edward wouldn't do anything especially with me being so sick and with him in the bed next to us. I did nothing but vomit up bile for the rest of the night.

By morning, I felt somewhat better. I wasn't as queasy, but still felt weak.

We arrived in Forks by noon and checked into the Forks Motel. Dad's appointment was at two and asked for us to tag along. He wanted to stop off at the diner and have a late lunch then head over to the house to make sure everything was still in tip-top shape. The realtor suggested it even though the papers would already be signed. I think maybe he just wanted to get one last look at the house that he had lived in for so long.

As Edward and I waited for my dad to sign the papers, we decided to take a walk over to the main strip through town. We peeked in windows, but didn't go inside. Our hands were interlocked as we strolled along, chit-chatting about anything and everything.

"Bella?!" I heard someone yell from behind me. I wasn't expecting to see anyone while I was there.

Edward and I turned and saw a tall, slim girl with dark hair that was in a high ponytail and black rimmed glasses. "Angela! Oh, my God!"

We practically sprinted and wrapped our arms around each other in a tight hug. Angela had been the only real friend I had in Forks, besides Heidi, when I lived here before. She knew of my heartbreak after Anthony and was the only person who ever tried to take my mind off the agony I had gone through. She kept me busy with things. Mostly mundane, and it worked, keeping me from wondering and putting myself back into a catatonic state. I owed her for being such a great friend.

"What the heck are you doing here? I thought you moved to Florida?" Angela stepped back and looked at me from head to toe. "Damn, you're so tan."

I chuckled. "Yeah, that's the luxury of living on the beach." I shrugged my shoulders. "Anyway, my dad needed to come back and sign some papers for the sale of his house. We're only here for a couple of days."

"God, I wish I knew or I would've taken a day off to spend with you," she said, glancing over my shoulder. "Um...Bella, why's he here?"

I looked behind me where Edward stood with his hands in his pockets. "After what he did to you and you're back with him?" She hissed, seeming really bothered from her tone of voice. "Bella, please tell me you're not..."

"No, no, Ang." I waved Edward over. "This is my boyfriend, Edward, and yes I know, he looks exactly like Anthony; they could be identical twins."

"Uh, yeah, they can." Angela extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Angela; it's nice to meet you."

Edward smiled as he shook her hand. "Hi, Angela, I'm Edward and believe me, I'm nothing like Anthony."

"Wow! You really do look just like him," she said in awe. "So, have you two been together for long?"

I nodded, smiling at her. "Yeah, um...it was about a week or two after my mom and Phil's wedding."

"That's where we met," Edward said, seeming proud. "And believe me, she was such a sight for sore eyes for me that it was like being hit in the face."

I shook my head, giggling at his silliness. "What Edward's saying is...I literally punched him in the face. He had a black eye for a while because I thought he was Anthony."

Angela's mouth popped open. "You did? Oh, Bella, I would've loved to see that."

"I'm just lucky he pursued me as much as he did," I said, smiling up at Edward, wrapping my arms around his body. "He was patient and proved he was nothing like Anthony."

Angela looked down at her watch. "Shit, I gotta go. I'm on my lunch break and I need to grab something to eat before I head back." She reached into her purse and pulled out a pen and piece of paper. "Here's my cell. Please make sure you program it and when you do, text me so I have your number, okay?"

We hugged each other, again. "I will. As soon as we get back to the motel room. I didn't bring my phone with me."

"You better. And Edward, take care of my dear friend; it was nice meeting you."

"You, too, Angela," Edward replied, slipping his arm around my shoulders before we turned to head back to the car. He placed a kiss on my temple. "She seems really nice."

I nodded up at him. "Yeah, she was one of my best-friends. If it weren't for her, I don't think I would've made it through Anthony leaving me."

"I guess I can thank her for keeping you sane, right?"

"Yeah, she's one of the best. I really do need to keep in contact with her. Please remind me to put her number in my phone when we get back to the motel," I requested, wrapping my arm around his waist as we walked back to the car.

My dad was leaning against it when we walked up. "You two ready?"

"Yeah, I'm starving. I've actually kept my breakfast down, so I think I'm okay to eat a little something." Edward and I climbed into the car before dad took his place behind the wheel. It was weird being back and showing Edward where I had lived for a little while. He thought it was beautiful, but never envisioned himself living in a town like Forks.

About six minutes later, we were pulling into the parking lot of the diner. We had eaten there so many times that it was like walking into _**Cheers**_ and hearing everyone yell out _**Norm**_ , when we walked in.

Felix, the owner, came rushing out and grabbed me up into his arms. "Look at you. All tan like a beach bunny."

"Hi, Felix," I said as he let my feet touch the floor, again. "It's so good to see you."

"You, too, my little Swan." Felix looked up and smiled at my dad. He extended his hand. "Charlie, it's good to see you, bud. How's Florida treating you?"

Dad smiled, shrugging his shoulders. "Not too bad. They're keeping me busy with work."

"Good, good. Nadine's in the back." Felix looked over my dad's shoulder and saw Edward. "This boy with you?"

My smile grew, tenfold. "Yup, this is Edward, my boyfriend. Dad let him come along."

Edward stepped forward, extending his hand toward Felix. "Nice to meet you," he said. "Charlie had to make sure he got to eat here one last time before we head back to Florida. There has to be something good here, huh?"

"Good to meet you, too, kiddo. And I sure as heck hope the food's good. I'm busier than a herd of ants at a pic-nick on a warm sunny day." Edward looked at him funny and just nodded his head. "C'mon, I'll show you to Charlie's table."

Felix led us to where my dad usually sat when he came to the diner to eat. I had eaten with him there, on more than one occasion. They did have good food, too.

After we were seated, Felix excused himself and went to get our drinks. We were perusing the menus when Nadine and Felix, came walking back with our beverages. Nadine pulled me into a death grip hug before doing the same to my dad.

We ordered our food with promises to exchange information with them before we left. My appetite was better than it had been the few days before. I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich with fruit salad on the side. Of course Edward ordered a Bacon Double Cheeseburger and a plate full of fries that he shared with my dad. They both ate like they hadn't eaten in days.

When we finished, we said our goodbyes to Felix and Nadine. They said they were due for a vacation and Florida was looking better and better for them. It'd be great to have them visit. Dad offered a place for them to stay to save money and they wholeheartedly, agreed.

Once we reached the house, it was so surreal to be back. We couldn't go inside, but I pointed out what room was mine as we pulled into the driveway. Dad said he'd only be a few minutes and told us to stay in the car, but we got out and walked around the front yard, looking through the windows of the house.

We waited by the car and after fifteen minutes of waiting, Edward and I decided to go in search of my dad. "I wonder what's taking him so long. He said he'd only be a few minutes."

"Who knows," Edward said. "Maybe he found something that needed to be fixed."

As we rounded the back of the house, I heard my dad talking to someone. I wasn't sure who it was, but when I didn't hear anyone respond, I stopped and listened for a minute. "I've only got a few minutes. Bella's out front with her boyfriend."

I peeked around the corner and saw my dad standing next to a gigantic dog. It was russet brown and its feet were the size of my head. "You know I can't understand you when you're like that," my dad said to the dog. It bowed it's head and what happened next, freaked me the fuck out.

The dog, changed into a guy and not just any guy. It was Jacob from the reservation. I couldn't help my reaction. I grabbed Edward's hand and pulled him around the corner. "What the fuck?!"

Dad and Jacob, both, spun around, surprised that we had seen what happened. "Bella, what the hell? I told you to wait out front."

"No, Dad, what the hell is this?" I looked over at Jacob, whom was completely stark naked. "And you, you're a shape shifter?"

Jacob had his hands covering his junk. "Let me put some pants on then I'll explain," he said before disappearing into the woods only to reappear a minute later wearing a pair of cut off blue jeans. He put his hands up, defensively. "Before you start yelling at your dad about anything, let me explain, okay?"

I waved my hand at him. "Yes, please explain why I come around the corner and see my dad talking to a shape shifter, of all things." I glanced up at my dad. "How long have you known?"

"He found out by accident. Well, sorta. I had been sick with a high fever, and my dad kept telling Charlie that I'd be fine, but he wouldn't listen. Then, out of nowhere, I phased for the first time and your dad about had a heart attack. That led to my dad having to explain why it happened. I already knew it was something that may possibly happen to me considering it's hereditary in our tribe. The fever only sets in when there's Vampires in our area." He continued to explain, but when he mentioned vampires, I stopped listening and began wondering if he knew about Anthony and his family.

I looked up at my dad. "I know about everything, Bella. Vampires, Witches, Wolves. You name it, I know all about it."

"And you never said anything to me? Especially now that you know what Anthony is?" I was getting very upset with my dad. If he knew all this time and didn't say anything to me, made me wonder if he even cared how I felt after Anthony left.

"Bella listen, it wasn't my place to say anything to you; I couldn't. It was to protect the tribe. It's their story to tell and I figured that since Anthony was gone, I didn't need to say anything." He was trying to reason with me, but it still upset me because if he knew, he could have been someone I could confide in about the whole situation. He could've been there more for me. I could have opened up to him instead of keeping it all bottled up, waiting for it to explode.

My feelings were hurt by his actions and even though he had a reasonable explanation, it still pained me that I was kept in the dark about what he knew. "Baby girl, I'm sorry, okay? I couldn't say anything and I thought you'd be okay and you are. You moving to Florida helped you and I couldn't be more grateful for Edward and Alice."

"But dad, I really needed someone to..."

"I know," he said, stepping over and wrapping me in his arms. "I'm really, truly sorry. I'll make it up to you, somehow, I promise."

"Listen Bells, your dad was only doing what he could. When those freaks moved into town and Sam was the first to phase, we knew something wasn't right. We had to sit through a tribe ceremony for the elder chiefs to tell the stories of our ancestors. That's when we found out it was Vampires that caused the gene in our blood to react to their presence. Your dad was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he found out. But he..."

I put my hands up. "That's fine, Jacob. You don't need to explain anymore. I just...it'll take some time for me to process the fact that my dad has known about Vampires this whole time and now Wolves."

"Listen, I need to get to the task at hand, here. I know all about Rosalie. That's why I needed to meet with Jacob in the first place. I need some reinforcements in Florida to help protect you and I was going to suggest that Jacob come back home with us." My dad sighed and looked at all three of us. "What some of you don't know is, the bite from a Wolf inflicted on a Vampire, will kill them and I feel that if Jacob's with us in Florida, he can help protect you and maybe keep me from having a heart attack at such a young age."

"I'm protected, though, daddy. Alice and Esme helped with that." I wasn't sure if he knew that Alice and Esme were witches or not, but since the wolf was out of the bag about everything else, why not let him know about the witches among us at home.

My dad raised his eyebrows at me. "Really? And just how did Alice and Esme help with that?"

"Charlie." Edward finally broke his silence. "My mom and sister are witches and they put a protection spell on us, well our jewelry, and we've been drinking Vervain tea for a while now."

Dad shook his head. "What the hell is this world coming to?" He looked up at me, not seeming too surprised at all about Esme and Alice being witches. "Well, in that case, I'm glad you're protected, so right now, we need to head to the reservation and have a chat with Billy about Jacob coming to stay with us for a while."

Apparently, dad and Billy had already discussed Jacob coming back to Florida. Billy had contacted his family attorney and had temporary guardianship papers drawn up so that my dad could make any legal decisions that concerned Jacob as long as he was in his care. I had asked how long he was staying and the only answer I got was...indefinitely.

I was, silently, saying the same thing my dad was saying. _"What's this world coming to?"_

* * *

 **And now Jacob enters the story, but he won't be around a whole lot.**

 **RTB**


	26. Chapter 26

**Don't kill me!**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns all characters and I own all the mistakes.**

 **2/10/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 26**

 **BPOV**

* * *

Our trip home seemed long and agonizing. My nausea was hitting me again full force, but I didn't let anyone know. I took the Dramamine before we got on the plane. I didn't want to pull any more attention to myself. I was only throwing up about once a day, but hid it as much as possible. I didn't want anyone to worry. If it got worse, I'd make sure to go to the doctor.

Dad dropped Edward off at home first due to the time of night, and because it was late, I decided to stay at my dad's house. I didn't feel like lugging my one and only bag up the stairs to my room.

Jacob settled right in after only a day. It was like he'd always lived with my dad. Edward and I had shown him around town and the Monday coming up, would be our first day back to school after the Christmas break. Dad was registering him and told him there was no way he would be acting like it was a vacation for him. He also expected him to do his homework and maintain a good grade average. Chores were also expected to be done. He was lucky my dad only had desert landscaping, leaving his yard full of cactus, palm trees and small rocks. It was a beautiful set-up. His backyard looked like a mirage with his in-ground pool.

Friday night rolled around. It was New Year's Eve, so my mom and Phil were having a party. Of course Phil's team was invited along with quite a few of my mom's colleagues from work. Her and Esme had worked around the clock for two days to get the whole house set up. It was like a night club opened up.

Evan was another story. Apparently, Rosalie dumped him. She told him it just wasn't working out with no explanation whatsoever. I had a feeling it had a lot to do with what happened at the restaurant. She was found out, but what puzzled me most of all was, even though we knew about her and she knew we had protection put on us, she still tried to get me by myself a couple of times. We knew it was a matter of time before she got frustrated over the whole situation and flounced on Evan.

The party was full swing. Music was playing, drinks were passed around and Hors d'oeuvre's passed out. Mom made the best stuffed mushrooms, stuffed clams and mini quiches'.

Around eleven thirty, mom and Phil got everyone's attention. Apparently they had an announcement to make.

"Can we get everyone's attention, please? Phil and I have some news that we want to share with everyone. You're all like family to us and we can't think of a better way to let everyone know at once, so..." Mom looked over at Phil. They both smiled a mile wide. Phil wrapped his arm around her shoulders and placed his hand on her stomach. Together the announced, "We're having a baby!"

Loud applause erupted throughout the house. I was so overwhelmed that tears sprang to my eyes. They had finally got what they were so desperately working for. I knew it was going to happen, but wasn't sure when. They looked so happy.

I walked up to them, Edward trailing behind me. I pulled Mom into a hug, first. "I'm so happy and excited for the both of you. I can't wait to have a little baby around the house." I started clapping like a little three year old kid. "I get a baby brother or sister."

I glanced up, seeing Alice with a blank look on her face. She looked pale, almost. Then she noticed I was looking at her. I mouthed _'What's wrong'_ , to her, but she shook her head at me and smiled. She was acting beyond strange, but that was Alice for you.

After a little more celebrating, it was almost midnight, so Edward and I decided to take a walk on the beach. It was a little cold out and the wind was blowing a little. I grabbed a blanket from the hall closet before we set out for our walk.

Alice called for me just as we were heading for the door. "Bella, wait! I have to talk to you about something."

I turned to look at her. "What's up? We're about to take a walk."

Edward started pulling on my hand. "Baby, come on. It's almost midnight and I wanna be alone."

Alice stopped halfway over to us. She must've noticed how anxious Edward was to get out of the house. She waved her hand at me. "Go on." She looked pensive. "It can wait, I guess."

"You sure?"

She nodded. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow. Love you! Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year!" I heard her yell back to me as Edward was impatiently pulling my arm to hurry up.

We found a quiet, secluded area behind some trees that were in a patch of terrain and laid the blanket out on the grass and sand. There were a group of trees that was blocking a lot of the wind from hitting us. The stars were out nice and bright and the moon was even brighter. We could hear music playing in the distance from other parties that were being held for the New Year.

I settled myself between Edwards legs. His arms were wrapped around me, pulling me extra close. He moved my hair from my shoulder and began kissing along my neck. I knew what he was initiating and I was more than willing. We hadn't had a minute to get our sexual frustrations out of the way.

I decided to turn in his embrace, facing him. I pulled my dress up around my waist and straddled him. He didn't seem surprised at all by my actions.

Wrapping my arms around his neck, we began kissing. He rubbed his hands up and down my back until they settled on my ass. He squeezed and pulled me down on him where I could feel his hard member. "I don't have any panties on," I whispered, which took him by surprise. "What, you thought I was gonna let you go home without putting out on New Year's? I don't think so, buddy. It's been a week since we did anything and I'm more than frustrated right now."

"Oh, I'm not arguing; just surprised you've gone all night without panties." He pressed his lips to my collar bone, trailing kisses down between my cleavage. I leaned back some so I could reach down to undo the button and zipper on his pants. Then I reached up and pulled the front of my dress down so he'd have access to my tits, which he loved to lavish as I rode him. "You know me so well."

I grasped his length as I pushed up on my knees so I could lower myself down on him. As soon as he was completely sheathed inside of me, we groaned from the best feeling there ever was.

I slowly began rocking against him, feeling myself become wetter with each movement I made. Edward had his hands on my hips, pushing and pulling me as we made love. He leaned his head down and took one of my nipples in his mouth, sucking but it hurt. "Ouch. Shit, that stung."

We had stopped moving. "Sorry, baby. I barely sucked."

I reached down and ran my fingertip over my nipples, noticing that _yes_ , they were both sore, but figured it was because I was due for my period anytime. "Just be gentle."

"Hhmmm..." he hummed as he captured a nipple between his lips. I began moving over him again, grinding myself a little harder than before.

"Lay back," I told him. He did as I asked, leaving me to rest my hands on his chest, giving myself more leverage to move up and down.

"Fuck, that feels good." He grabbed my ass coercing me to go faster. I complied as he helped lift me up and push me down, as we moved faster together.

I leaned back, resting my hands on his shins, dropping my head back. I opened my eyes to the bright star lit sky. Our breathing was ragged and strained.

I flinched when I felt Edward push a finger into my clit. A jolt of electricity shot through me, causing me to raise back up and look down at him. "I don't know what you did, but do it again."

I could hear the faint humming noise that was always present when we connected with each other. It wasn't as loud as the first time it happened, months ago, but it was there.

Edward placed his thumb over my clit and pushed. The jolt happened again, causing my nipples to become harder, if that were even possible. I wasn't sure what it was, but it felt damn good. "Fuck, you're gonna make me cum." I started moving faster over him as he began to raise his hips to meet mine.

Quicker than I noticed, he had us switched around. I was on my back with my legs in the air. He held my ankles as he began to slam into me.

He pounded into me a little harder, causing me to scoot up the blanket. He had to move up to catch me. Letting go of my legs, he dropped down, resting his hands on either side of my shoulders. I reached up, wrapping my arms around him the best that I could. My legs had a mind of their own and snaked around his hips.

"Yes," I moaned.

As soon as our release was beginning to subside, Edward plopped down on the blanket next to me, rubbing his hands over his eyes. "Fuck, I got sand in my eyes."

I leaned over him. "Let me see."

He moved his hands and I could see where the sand had gathered in the corner of his eyes. I tried to wipe, as much as I could, away with my fingertips. "Move your damn hands so I can see better." I grabbed my cell phone and illuminated the screen so I could get a better look. I wiped a few more times, getting the rest of the sand. "There, is that better?"

He rubbed over his eyes one more time. "Yeah, thanks. Fuckin' wind." He hurriedly grabbed me, pulling me down on top of him. "Happy New Year, baby. That was the best New Year's present, ever."

"Happy New Year to you, too. And I wouldn't call that a present, it was more of a delayed duty."

"Duty?"

"Yup; it's your duty to keep me satisfied." I smiled mischievously at him.

He rolled us over, pushing his leg between mine. "Duty my ass." He pressed his lips to mine, pushing his tongue into my mouth. We kissed for a few more minutes before he pulled away. "It's after twelve thirty. We need to get back before anyone notices we disappeared."

It turned out to be one of the best New Year's...ever.

Alice and I had spent most of Saturday together. We went to the mall, just the two of us. She kept giving me awkward glances as if there was something she wanted to tell me but didn't know how to say it. Whatever she had to say to me would finally eat at her enough that she'd spill. I left it alone and enjoyed our time together.

"Did you at least have a good trip? I know you were sick, but still, you got out some, didn't you?" We were sitting in the food court of the mall finishing our lunch.

I nodded. "Yeah, we walked around a bit. We ran into my friend Angela while we were waiting on my dad. It was good seeing her."

"That's cool. Was it weird being back there?" She was picking at an oatmeal raisin cookie as we chatted.

I shrugged my shoulders. "For the most part, yeah. A lot of memories came flooding back, but I didn't let them bother me. Angela about had a coronary when she saw Edward."

"She thought he was Anthony, huh?"

"Yeah, it was almost comical, but I could tell she could see the difference right away. I just hope we can stay in touch with each other." I stood to take my trash to the garbage bin. Alice followed with hers as well before we headed off to the other direction of the mall that we hadn't walked through.

"I would have loved to see her face." We walked for a couple of minutes before she spoke again. "So, are you still sick?" She must've noticed that I was a little green. My stomach was starting to roll from nausea. "You're looking a little pale right now."

I shrugged one shoulder. "Eh, I'm still a little weak from all the puking but all-in-all, I'm pretty much over it. I just think it was a stomach flu or something." I playfully poked her side. "Enough about me, how's things with you and Jasper? I feel like I've missed so much while I was gone for those few days."

A huge smile graced her face. You could tell she was head over heels in love with him. She gets stars in her eyes just thinking about him. "Oh, God, Bella. I love him so much. He's like every girls dream come true. Except yours, of course. He's so gentle with me. He even told me he loved me."

I grabbed her and wrapped her in a tight hug. "I'm so happy for you. He's your _one_ , isn't he?" I released her, smiling at how happy she looked. "I can see how much you love him."

"We're gonna do it, tonight. I'm ready and I know he is. We've only touched each other, but I'm tired of waiting any longer." She sighed dreamily. "I'm just glad I'm on birth control because there's no way I'm gonna be knocked up, too. Too many pregnant women around here."

"Huh?" I looked at her with my brows knitted together. "My mom's the only person I know that's pregnant." She raised her eyebrows back at me. "Who else is pregnant?"

"No one, I'm just saying." She looked guilty, but I didn't question it. "Ones enough, I guess." She skipped off, pulling me with her. "Anyway, you ready for school next Monday? I just want this school year over with. I'm ready to be a Senior. Edward's lucky he graduates this year."

I nodded in agreement.

We chatted more and ended up buying three new outfits each. I didn't need any more damn clothes, but Alice insisted that I get similar outfits to hers.

Around four, we finally left the mall and headed home. I dropped her off and went home. Edward was out doing something with his dad. My mom had requested that I be there for dinner. Dad and Jacob was joining us.

Monday morning rolled around, our first day back after our three week long Christmas break. Edward had just walked into my room as I came out of the bathroom. Of course I just finished brushing my teeth from throwing up, again. I tried to cover it as much as I could, but he must have noticed. "Are you still throwing up? Bella, you need to get to the damn doctor."

"I know, I know. I'll ask mom to make me an appointment today."

He wrapped his arms around me. "You better. This isn't normal. There could be something seriously wrong."

"Stop," I said, pushing him away. "Let's go. We're gonna be late for school."

We trudged downstairs, me grabbing my backpack as we headed out the door. I automatically handed my keys over to him, knowing he'd want to drive. He smiled, a huge toothy grin, at me. "You're such a dork, but I love you anyway."

"I love you, too. Let's get this day over with."

Once we got to school, there was buzz going around about a new student. Apparently he was a Senior and girls were gushing as they talked about him. I wasn't the least bit interested or even cared. I ignored all the talk as much as I could.

Just before lunch, I needed to make a pit stop at the bathroom. My bladder was very over active and I could barely hold it anymore.

Just as I was walking out of the stall and stepped to the sink to wash my hands, I heard to door open. I wasn't paying any attention. It wasn't unusual for other girls to come in and use the bathroom. It did have multiple stalls.

I turned the water on and waited a second for it to get warm. As I looked up into the mirror, a scream erupted from deep within me. "Hi, Isabella. Long time, no see."

I backed away from _him_. He looked so much like Edward, but I could see the difference between the two, now. Edward's hair had lightened up over the summer and it had more of a blonde tint to it. He also styled it differently. If that's what you call his mess of hair. Of course their eyes were different colors but not by much. Edward was also more broad shouldered and stood maybe a half inch taller. The other big difference, Edwards skin was golden brown from the numerous hours in the sun. "What the hell are you doing in here? Get the fuck away from me."

"Now, now, let's not be so harsh. Haven't you missed me?" _He_ stepped closer to me causing me to cringe into the corner of the wall. "I know I've missed you, terribly."

"Leave me alone or I'll scream." I wrapped my arms around myself trying to cower further away but it wasn't helping.

He smiled deviously at me. "I'm not going anywhere. I came for what's rightfully mine."

"And, what would that be?" I asked, nervously. My heart was racing and I could feel the bile begin to rise in my throat.

"You, of course." He stepped closer. "I left without saying goodbye, but I'm he..." He trailed off, narrowing his eyes at me, tilting his head to the side like he was trying to hear something. His nostrils were flaring and he began to breathe deeply. "You didn't," he snarled.

I started shaking as he stepped closer, lowering his head down close to my stomach. "What're you doing?"

He jumped back a few steps, his fists were clamped together. His chest was rising and falling rapidly. Before I knew what was happening, he punched a huge hole in the wall. "You fucking did!" He roared. "You fucked someone else. You gave away what was mine! You promised! You promised you'd always be mine!"

I shook my head. "I don't...I don't know what you're talking about."

"I can fuckin' hear it, Isabella! It's in there." He pointed to my stomach. "You let someone else plant their seed in you! How could you?!"

I frantically shook my head. "No..no...no, it's not like that." I had no clue what he was talking about. I just wanted him to leave me alone. "Please, just leave me alone. Please, go away."

"Get rid of it! I will not allow you to carry that thing. You're mine and I will take what's mine," he said through gritted teeth.

"No! You left! I'm not yours; I'm with someone else. I love him and I'm not going anywhere with you." I moved to go passed him, but he grasped my arm where my shirt was covering my skin. "Let go of me, now."

I backed away from him and he willingly let my arm go. I couldn't figure out why he didn't get shocked like Rosalie did.

"I know all about your little zapper thing you have on you. I know all about your little witch friend, too. Don't you think I'm a lot smarter than that? Give me some credit, Isabella. I'm just disappointed that Rosalie couldn't follow through with my plan." He shook his head. "What a fuckin' loser she is. She could never do anything right. I don't even know what Emmett saw in her."

"She's with Emmett?" I asked, astonished. I wouldn't be surprised if his family was trying to help him with whatever plan he had.

He chuckled. "Yeah, he met her right after we left Forks, but I conned her away from him. All she needed was a little persuasion and she spread her legs for me quicker than that." He snapped his fingers in the air. "They're so pathetic. That whole family is."

"They're not with you?" I looked at him quizzically. For some reason I felt a little relieved to hear they weren't coerced into helping him.

"Nope." He popped the _P_. "I wasn't going to let them screw up my plans that I have for you."

"Please, Anthony, just let me go. I have a new life here and I'm happier than I've ever been." I pleaded. "Please, I just...Please. I'm begging you."

He smiled at me. "Oh, you'll definitely be begging me soon enough." He took one step closer, causing me to flinch. "Now, GET. RID. OF. IT!"

"I have no clue what _it_ is! You keep saying that, but how am I supposed to know what _it_ is?" He had me so confused that my head was spinning. I couldn't help but stumble to the sink and throw up. "Just leave!"

" _It,_ Isabella, is the seed of that boy-toy of yours, growing inside your stomach. GET. RID. OF. IT!"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Was he telling me that I was pregnant with Edwards baby? There was no way. Anthony had to be spouting out lies. How could I believe him?

Just as I slumped to the floor, the bathroom door flew open and Alice came running in. Immediately, Anthony went flying into the wall after Alice raised her hand to him. Whatever the hell she did, she needed to do it a lot worse. "Now, get the fuck out! Leave her alone or I'll do a whole lot worse to you." Alice was fuming with anger, her hand raised, poised to put more power behind her next influence she put on him.

Anthony rushed from the bathroom, cursing and saying something about stupid fuckin' witches, leaving me and Alice alone. I had scooted over to the wall to prop myself up. I wrapped my arms around my knees and began to sob uncontrollably. I could barely breath because I was crying so hard.

Alice knelt down in front of me. "C'mon, Bella, we need to get you outta here."

"I can't. He'll come after me," I said between breaths.

"Yes, you can. C'mon, I'll drive you home. You need to calm down before you end up in the hospital like last time in Forks." She tried pulling at my arm. "Bella, please."

I snapped my eyes to hers. "Did you hear what he said to me?" She nodded. "Oh, God, Alice." I shook my head. "It can't be true."

"It is, honey. I tried to tell you, but you didn't..."

"What?!" I yelled at her, not believing what I was hearing.

"Yes, Bella, you're pregnant."

* * *

 **Oh BOY!**

 **RTB**


	27. Chapter 27

**Oh, BOY!**

 **There's one of my reviewers that I can reply to. I try to reply to everyone, but if you're blocked, I can't.**

 **Let's see what happens now.**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns all characters and I own all the mistakes.**

 **2/10/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 27**

 **BPOV**

* * *

The feeling I was having was all too familiar. My mind was stuck; I couldn't think or talk. I was catatonic by the time Alice got me home. She had taken Jasper's keys to his truck, leaving him to get a ride with Edward. She had texted Edward, letting him know that I had gotten sick and was taking me home. She also told him not to worry, that she'd take care of me. My only worry was if Anthony approached him at school.

Alice also sent a text to my mom letting her know that I wasn't feeling well and was taking me to the house. I wasn't sure what was going to happen once I was there. I just wanted to curl up into a ball and forget about the world around me. It was crashing in on me and I didn't know what to do to stop it. How was I supposed to explain to my parents that I was pregnant? Edward also, for that matter. He'll probably freak when I tell him that Anthony was the one who brought it to my attention.

Edward came to my house immediately after leaving school. Jasper rode with him so he could pick up his truck and Alice. She stayed with me until Edward got there. Her and I had agreed that I wouldn't say anything yet about the baby. She was going to the drug store to buy me a pregnancy test after Jasper took her home.

"Baby?" Edward said, pushing my hair away from my face. "What happened today?"

I was quiet. I didn't know how to tell him that Anthony was back and was at our school as a new student. "Please, talk to me. You're scaring me half to death." He knelt down on the floor in front of me, looking at me square in the face. "Bella, you have to talk, baby. I can't help you if you don't tell me what to do."

I glanced up at him, seeing how hurt he looked. I couldn't take the fact that I put that worry on his face. "He's back," I whispered. "He's at our school, Edward. He's the new student all the girls were talking about."

"Who, babe, tell me?"

I whispered, "Anthony." Tears rolling out of my eyes. "He cornered me in the bathroom. I was so scared, Edward. He says he came for me."

"I won't let him get you. Over my dead body and we'll all do what we can to keep him from you. That's why Jake's here and my mom and sister will do whatever they can to help protect you. He won't get you." He promised over and over as he continuously caressed his hand down the side of my head, pushing my hair back as he did it. He kissed my temple numerous times as he soothed me.

"I can't lose you, Edward. I won't. I'm afraid he'll hurt you to get to me." I scooted over to the edge of the bed and wrapped my arms around his neck. He stumbled back a little, but caught himself on my bedside table. "Sorry, lay with me, please."

Edward climbed into the bed, wrapping his arms around me. I couldn't get close enough. I had my entire face buried in his chest. His smell was calming me, evening out my breathing.

"I promise, baby. We won't let him hurt you." He squeezed me tighter. "I love you more than life itself and you're not going anywhere; neither am I."

"I love you, too, Edward. More than anything. Please, just always remember that. Nothing that anyone says or does, will ever change the way I feel about you." And it was true. No words or actions from anyone would ever change my feelings for him. My only concern now was, how was I supposed to tell him about our baby? I wanted to be sure that what Alice and Anthony, both, were saying, was true. I couldn't figure out how any of this happened. I was on birth control and I religiously took it every day. I hadn't missed one since I put that first pill in my mouth. Something wasn't right.

Edward stayed until my mom got home. Telling her that Anthony was a student at our school, was like lightening striking an electrical transformer. She was absolutely livid and was trying to come up with ways to get him kicked out, but there wasn't anything she could do. He hadn't directly put me in harm's way. "That boy has another thing coming if he thinks he'll get away with tormenting you. He'll be expelled so fast, his head would spin."

"I know Mom. Is Dad coming over?"

"Yes, as soon as he's done with some paperwork. I didn't tell him what's going on, though. I just told him that we needed his undivided attention when he gets here," she explained, handing me a glass of water and two Tylenol. "Here, this should help with your headache."

"Thank you," I whispered as I popped the pills in my mouth and took a large gulp of water to wash them down. "Is Jake coming, too?"

She shook her, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm not sure. I think your Dad has some things for him to do around the house. It was something like that. Who knows...I'm surprised Charlie lets him stay out so late on school nights sometimes."

I knew Jake was going out at night to walk the neighborhood. He would phase and patrol the area to make sure there wasn't anything suspicious going on. He had to make sure he stayed in the shadows of the houses so no one would see him and freak out. Jake wasn't the size of any ordinary dog. He was practically the size of a huge bear. Anyone who saw him, would seriously freak and call the Marines for back up.

"Well, I'm gonna go get dinner started. You think you could eat?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm actually really hungry. I was just sick because I was scared to death of Anthony. That's enough to make anyone puke."

"I hear ya. Okay, I'll be down in the kitchen. I'll send your Dad up once he gets here." She left the room, causing me to sigh in relief because honestly, my mom had some sixth sense when it came to me. It was like she could predict when I was about to get a zit.

About thirty minutes later, there was a knock at my door. "Come in," I called out. My Dad peeked his head through the door. "Hi, Daddy."

"Hey, baby girl. Your Mom said you needed to talk to me about something." He walked over to my bed and sat down. "You okay? You look like someone ran over your cat."

I chuckled at him. "I'm okay. Something did happen at school today, though." I took a deep breath to prepare my words. "Anthony's here. He's a student at the school."

"What the fuck? You've got to be fuckin' kidding me? Did he hurt you?" His nostrils flared from anger. "I swear to God if that...thing, so much as lays a hand on you..."

I shook my head at him. "He didn't hurt me. Scared the shit out of me, and he threatened me."

"What'd he say?"

"He told me that he came for me and he'd take what was his." I felt tears roll down my cheeks. "Dad, what if he hurts Edward? Or anybody else for that matter? It'd be all my fault..."

"Now you stop right there," he growled. "None of this is your fault. We'll figure something out. Jake does his patrolling at night and he'll be more alert now that we know that Anthony's here. We'll just leave him alone...for now. If he does anything to warrant his decapitation, then so be it." He chuckled. "I just have a feeling that'll be happening sooner than we think."

I shook my head. "This is all just crap, Dad. Why can't he just leave me alone? I don't want him anymore; I love Edward."

I wasn't sure if he knew anything about how Vampires could find anyone that they've fed from or had sex with. I also wasn't about to give up that bit of information. If he knew, he didn't let on or ask any questions. God forbid, if he did; I'd turn into a stuttering fool.

"Where's Edward, anyway?" Dad stood from the bed and walked over to look out the window. "That boys usually here until after the sun goes down."

"He was here until Mom got home. We have an English Lit project due and he was going home to get his part done. It's due next Monday, but since we work so well together, we decided to go ahead and get it done and out of the way." I smiled up at my dad when he turned to look at me. He had a smile on his face that told me he agreed with what I just said.

He sat down next to me and took my hand. "You two are good together no matter what you do. I really do like Edward. He's a good kid and he treats you right. That don't mean I won't kick his ass if he hurts you."

I rolled my eyes, smiling at him. "He won't hurt me, Daddy. Yeah, he irritates the piss outta me sometimes, but I'm sure I do the same to him, too."

"Well, if you're anything like your mother..." He trailed off, smiling at me, chuckling. I was sure he was thinking of some past situations with my Mom.

I moved up, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Thanks, Dad, for being here. I'm glad I can talk to you about stuff. There's just things I can't talk to Mom about, and you know that, so thank you."

"No need to thank me, baby girl. I just hope you know that you can come talk to me about anything, regardless of what it is. I won't judge you because knowing me, I've probably done it." He kissed the side of my head. "C'mon, I'm sure your Mom has dinner ready and I'm pretty hungry right now. I'm gonna call Jake and have him come over. I'll fill him in on everything once we get home." We stood from the bed. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we started walking toward the door.

When we got downstairs, Mom was just setting the table for dinner. Phil was helping her, also. I decided to help out by getting glasses for the iced tea that Phil just sat on the table.

"Hey, Ren, I'm gonna go call Jake and have him come over here for dinner, if that's okay."

"That's fine. He's part of the family, too." She smiled up at my Dad. "Phil, honey, this is ready." She handed him the dish to be placed on the table. "Charlie, can I speak to you for a minute?"

"Sure," he agreed and they left the kitchen.

Phil looked at me skeptically. "Everything okay, with you, kiddo?"

"I'll be okay. I'm sure Mom told you what happened today." He nodded. "I just hope he stays away from me, but for some reason, I'm sure I haven't seen the last of him, yet."

Phil stepped over, wrapping his arms around me. "We're here for you, honey. We'll do whatever we can to protect you from that asshole." He kissed my temple and released me from his hug.

"Thanks, Phil."

A few minutes later, Mom and Dad came walking back in and we tucked into our dinner. My stomach had calmed down a lot and I hoped I could keep my food down. Jake showed up just as we finished dishing out our own food.

About eight o'clock, Alice called and told me she was on her way. She had gone to the drug store to get the pregnancy test. I just told my Mom she was coming over to bring back a shirt she had borrowed over the weekend.

She ushered me up to my room and straight into the bathroom. "The test I got says you can take it anytime of the day, and I got another one that you can take in the morning."

I nodded nervously at her. "Just give me the damn test." I looked at the box and read that it was digital and had the time of conception on it, also.

I pushed Alice out of the bathroom. My heart was racing like a horse in the Kentucky Derby. I was lucky I had to pee or I would've been sitting there all night, on the toilet.

After pissing on the stick, I walked out of the bathroom and went straight for my bed. "It said three to five minutes." Alice picked up her phone and set a timer on it. "I don't know if I can look at it. I wish you would've said something sooner to me. I've been so caught up in Christmas and finals at school that I didn't even notice I missed my period."

Alice sat down next to me. "I'm really sorry. I tried telling you after your Mom announced her pregnancy. I had the vision right after she said she was pregnant and now that I think about it, you're the one I saw in my visions months ago that was pregnant with your mom. I really don't have an explanation as to why I can't see some of my visions clearly. It's like a puzzle I have to piece together. I really am sorry. I should've been more adamant about telling you that night. I really do suck as a friend."

"Stop," I demanded to her, then sat silent for a moment. "God, Alice, what the hell's gonna happen to me? My parents are gonna kill me and Edward; I'm only seventeen." Tears began to roll down my cheeks. "How the hell is Edward gonna react to this?"

"Honey, I know you're scared, right now, but I do know that everything will be fine. I've seen it. I know you don't wanna know stuff like that, but this I can assure you that it will all be fine. I know you carry the baby, but after that, I'm not sure." She patted my hand and glanced down at her phone. "One minute."

I couldn't even think straight. I wanted to ask her how her night with Jasper went, but at the moment, I was being selfish. "I'm sorry, Alice, I was gonna ask you..." Then the timer interrupted me. "Shit."

"Do you want me to look?" She smiled at me. It didn't reach her eyes like it normally did. I was sure she felt bad about not telling me sooner of her vision.

I sighed heavily. "No, I'll go look." I got up from the bed and trudged my way into the bathroom. The test was like a huge neon sign flashing at me from the counter.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, counted to ten then opened them. _**"Positive. 5+ weeks."**_

I stood for a few minutes to try and gather my nerves. Alice said it was going to be okay. That was all I had to go on, right now, but I felt like everything was about to fall apart. I didn't know how to tell Edward, let alone, my parents. I was letting them down by letting this happen. I was suddenly that clichéd teenage pregnancy program that they show on TV for after school specials. Or better yet, one of those sappy movies on the _Lifetime Movie Network._

I heard a soft knock at the bathroom door. "Bella?" It was Alice, of course. She already knew, but facing her was an embarrassment of some sort. I feel like I've let her down, also, in some way. I've let everyone down and it's all my fault.

"Just give me a minute. Please, Alice?" I sat back down on the lid of the toilet and placed my head in my hands, placing my elbows on knees. I kept seeing angry faces flash before my eyes. I kept hearing berating words flow through my mind about how bad I screwed up my life. I didn't want to think that way, though. Alice said things would be okay. I just had to keep reminding myself...I had to. Alice said things would be okay.

I gathered my thoughts and stood from the toilet. I picked up the test and glanced at it - _5+ weeks._ I started counting back and it only brought one date to mind – the day after Thanksgiving. That would actually put me at about seven weeks pregnant. Don't they count back two weeks to determine a due date? _God, I'm pathetic._

Alice was sitting at the end of my bed when I finally walked out. She had a small, sad smile on her face when I looked up at her. I had the test in my hand. Reaching out, I handed it to her. "It's true and Anthony heard it. He heard it inside me."

Alice took the test from my hand and looked down at it. She let out a long, drawn out sigh. "Vampires do have impeccable hearing." She stepped in front of me, putting her hands on my shoulders. "I'm sorry, though, Bella. I should've been the first to tell you."

"It's okay." She wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. "I did tell you not to tell me any of your visions. And it's my fault that I didn't talk to you on New Year's like you wanted." Then I pulled back, gasping. "Wait a minute, why didn't you tell me when we were at the mall on Saturday? You could've told me then, but you didn't."

She stepped back from me and sat on the bed. "Again, I'm sorry. Saturday just got away with me. I was enjoying our time together because we never get to see each other that much anymore."

"But you said something about _All these pregnant women._ You had to have been thinking about it then. You could have said something." I shook my head. I was upset and I wanted to be angry with her, but the look on her face made me retreat from screaming at her.

"Please, Bella? I'm sorry; I really am. I didn't do it on purpose. Please believe me. I can't live with myself if you can't forgive me for not telling you right away." I saw tears roll down her cheeks before she wiped them away with the back of her hand. "I promise to come to you right away, from now on, if something this serious happens again. I just...I can't lose you as a best-friend."

Her pleading words tore at my heart and I found myself pulling her from the bed and wrapping my arms around her. "Oh, God, Alice, no. You won't ever lose me as a best-friend. Ever, okay? It's just, my feelings are hurt because you didn't come to me right away, and now, I have to think pretty quick about how I'm supposed to tell Edward and my parents."

We sat down on the bed. "I'll help you anyway I can." Then she looked guilty as sin. "I have something else I need to tell you, though."

"Oh, Alice, no. What else?"

She glanced up at me through her eyelashes. "Um...I sorta already told my Mom earlier. I was telling her what happened at school and it just sorta slipped out. I don't know why, but she kept blaming herself."

"Dammit. Please tell me she won't say anything?" God, I couldn't imagine how things would go if my parents or Edward learned that Esme was one of the first to know. I already have a feeling that Edward's going to have a conniption fit.

She shook her head. "She won't. She said it was your place to tell anyone. My Dad doesn't even know, yet. She said she was contemplating on telling him to soften the blow, some."

"God, she must think I'm a slut." I shook my head. "I hope she doesn't think I did this on purpose to trap Edward."

Her head shook frantically. "No, no, no. She would never think something like that. She loves you like you were her own daughter. My mom's not the type of person to pass judgment."

"Alice, she has every right to pass judgment on me. I let her son knock me up."

She rolled her eyes at me. "Excuse me, but doesn't it take two to tango, as they say? I'm sure Edward was more than willing to stick his..." She waved her hand. "...in you. So, no, you're both at fault here, okay. And like I told you before, it'll all be okay. That part I know is true."

That made me feel a little better. Now it was just the telling part that I had to get over with. I'd give myself until Friday to come up with a way to tell Edward.

Alice left a few minutes later. It was already past nine o'clock and she still had some homework that needed to be done. I quickly did the same before I called Edward. Our conversation didn't last very long because I was exhausted from the day I had. He understood, told me he loved me and that he'd see me the next morning.

The next day at school, I kept getting knots in my stomach. I was afraid Anthony would say something in front of Edward or to him. Then I started hearing talk of how much Edward and Anthony resembled each other. How we were going to bypass this situation, was confusion to me.

Apparently, Anthony already answered that question for us. He had told people that him and Edward were long lost cousins, of the sort. Of course, everyone believed him. He could still compel other people to believe anything he told them.

He also glared at me as Edward and I walked passed him in the hallway. I could hear him whispering things to the girls that surrounded him. They would giggle like the school girls that they were and gush over every word he spewed from his mouth. It was disgusting, really.

The rest of the week went pretty much the same. At one point in time, a girl that I didn't know, approached me and asked what it was like going out with two guys that looked so much alike. She also asked if Edward was my rebound guy. That pissed me off. I wanted so badly to knock Anthony's teeth down his throat, but that would only leave me with a broken hand.

Friday rolled around and I knew I needed to tell Edward. It was eating at me like a carnivore over red meat. I almost told him on Wednesday when we were fooling around and he said something about how my tits felt heavier. I needed to get it done and over with, so Esme took it upon herself and called me on Thursday evening, inviting me over for dinner on Saturday. She helped me plan out a way to tell him. She was going to suggest that he and I go on a picnic on the beach, for lunch. That only meant I needed to be at his house by eleven on Saturday morning.

My heart was beating out of my chest when I stepped up on the front porch of his house. With a forced hand, I pressed the button for the doorbell. Esme greeted me with a tight hug. "We'll talk when you two get back from your picnic, okay? It'll be all right, honey, I promise."

I couldn't figure out how Esme was being so understanding with all this. She knew and she wasn't berating me, calling me a whore or telling me I was a gold digger. Which would've been funny considering, I didn't need their money, whatsoever.

Edward was in the kitchen packing up a picnic basket when I came in. "Hey, baby. Mom suggested we have a pic-nick because it's actually a nice day out. That okay with you?"

I nodded, grabbing the two sandwiches that were stacked next to the bowl of grapes, handing them to him. "That's a great idea."

Esme kept looking at me skeptically. She was probably wondering whether or not I was going to tell him. I didn't have any choice, though. He had to be told and it had to be in the next hour.

Edward handed me a large folded up blanket before he grabbed the basket of food. We both kissed Esme's cheek before walking out the back door towards the beach. We didn't go too far from the house, but we were far enough that we couldn't be heard talking. The sound of the waves from the ocean would drown out our conversation anyway.

I spread out the blanket and sat close to the middle. Edward placed the basket close to the top edge of it, but close enough that we could reach inside for our food. We sat for a few minutes, groping each other before we decided to eat. My stomach was churning, so I had to force my food down. I kept taking deep breaths to try and calm my nerves.

"Something's eating at you. Spit it out, already." I was stunned silent. I gaped at him for a few seconds before he spoke again. "You don't seem to realize how well I do know you, Bella. I know something's bothering you."

I placed my plate next to the basket and pulled my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. Taking a deep breath, I looked up at him. He was staring at me, waiting for me to say something. I kept trying to force the words out but they were stuck in my throat.

"I'm getting the impression that I'm not gonna be very happy about this conversation because you would've already said something by now." He moved to sit directly in front of me with his hands wrapped around the calves of my legs. "Whatever it is, we'll work through it, okay? It can't be that bad."

I had to do it now and get it over with. _1...2...3..._ "I'm pregnant."

His eyes grew wide as saucers as he sat straight up. "Wha...wha...what? Pregnant?"

I nodded, tears starting to flow down my face. I knew it would've been a shock to him, so his reaction right now, didn't surprise me at all. "What about your birth control? I thought you took that like clockwork every day."

"I do...I did. I don't know how, but it happened. I'm sorry." So far, he didn't seem upset at all.

"When did you find out?"

"Monday night," I whispered. "Alice brought me a pregnancy test."

"What?! You've known since fuckin' Monday and I'm just now finding out? And my sister fuckin' knows before me? What the fuck, Bella!?" He stood up from the blanket, walking away from me. He paced back and forth cursing under his breath.

The longest five minutes of my life came and went. It felt longer than waiting for that damned test to tell me what I already knew. I couldn't decipher, by the look on his face, what he was thinking. He had stopped pacing and was now looking out over the ocean. He didn't have a sad nor happy look; just blank.

I couldn't handle the silence anymore. "Your mom knows, too." I got up and walked over to him and wrapped my arms around him. "I'm sorry. I don't know how all this happened."

He released a stuttering breath, closing his eyes. He reached down and pulled my arms from around him. "You need to move, please."

My heart sank into the pit of my stomach and the tears were back on, full force.

I reluctantly, moved away from him and went to sit back on the blanket on the far edge. He was quiet, still looking out over the ocean but still close enough to hear him if he talked.

After a few minutes, he sat back down on the blanket, flopping back with his arm over his eyes. "Why, Bella?" He asked through gritted teeth.

"I told you. I don't know how it happened. I can't explain it. I'm sorry; I wish I knew the answer," I replied, my crying turning into full blown sobs.

He sat up abruptly. "Not that, Bella," he said in a raised voice. "Why the fuck..." he yelled, glancing around before leaning toward me, lowering his voice. "Why the fuck does my sister and mother know before me? Huh? Don't you think I should've known first?"

"I'm sorry." I let out a loud sob, snot dripping from my nose. "Alice was there; I couldn't help it. I didn't know until Anthony told me."

He jerked his head up, glaring at me. "What the fuck?!" He yelled. "How did that motherfucker know?"

His unbelieving tone, had me wondering if he thought I was lying to him. "He said he could hear it; that you planted your seed inside of me," I said, angrily. "Alice was right there when he told me to get rid of it or he would."

Edwards face grew pale as he lowered his head, looking down at his hands where he was digging at a cuticle. "Do you want to? Get rid of it, I mean?"

"God, no, Edward, but if that's what you want, then I understand. We're too young and I don't wanna hold you back from anything. I can't, but I don't wanna lose you." My crying grew harder, once again and it was getting to the point where I couldn't catch my breath.

"How does my mom know?" He asked, nearly whispering. He wasn't looking at me anymore; only looking out at the ocean, again.

I grabbed a napkin and wiped my face before answering. "Alice told her. It slipped out when she was telling her about Anthony cornering me in the bathroom at school. She's not mad. She kept telling me it was all her fault."

"How the hell is it her fault? She wasn't there coaching us on the best way for me to knock you up." Angry emotions started gracing his beautiful face. "It's my fault, if it's anyone's."

"No it's not. We both could have been more cautious; used condoms or not done it at all."

He growled and punched down into the blanket covered sand. "You should have told me that day! Instead, you wait a week to tell me. A fuckin' week, Bella! Did you even think you were pregnant before? Didn't you notice when you missed your damn period?"

"I'm sorry; I wanted to be sure. I didn't believe what Anthony said, but then Alice said that she tried to tell me on New Year's night, but we kept getting interrupted. Monday night, she came over and brought a test and I took it. It said I was five plus weeks pregnant. I did the math and I'm pretty sure I got pregnant the day after Thanksgiving. That makes me a few weeks behind of my mom."

"How can you be so sure?" He asked, glancing over at me.

"I'll show you the test. There's a conception indicator on it. It said, Positive, or Pregnant, five plus weeks. So that means Mom must've known she was pregnant, but waited until New Years to announce it to everyone, " I explained, hoping he didn't think I was lying.

"We," he said quietly. "We conceived."

My heart did one huge thud against my chest at those two words. I wiped my face again. My sobbing quieted, but the tears were still falling.

"How can I make this right? How can I make you not hate me, right now?" I would do anything for him.

A shocked look crossed his face; he jumped at me, pushing me back on the blanket, hovering over me. "Don't you dare say shit like that. I don't hate you. I never will. I love you more than life itself. And there's nothing to make right." He reached up and wiped my tears away. "I won't lie and say I'm not scared because I am. If you couldn't tell, I was shocked as hell when you said you were pregnant and the only thing I'm upset about is you not telling me right away. Besides you, I should've been the first to know. My feelings are hurt and I'm pissed off because that fucker knows; his fucked up mutant hearing and all. That shit just irks the hell outta me."

As soon as I opened my mouth to apologize again, he pressed his lips to mine. "Don't say it," he warned. "Just promise me that you won't keep shit from me again. That's all I ask."

"I promise," I declared, wrapping my arms around him. "And, I'm sorry."

"Stop with the apologies. I know you're sorry and to answer your question, no, I don't want you to get rid of our baby. Yes, we're young, but we'll work it out, okay," he said then kissed me again. Then he grimaced. "Your parents are gonna kill me."

"Us," I corrected him. "They're gonna kill both of us."

* * *

 **A new Cullen addition.**

 **RTB**


	28. Chapter 28

**This might be the last chapter for the night. I wanted to get started on my next story, "Black Tears."**

 **It's time to tell the parents. I've been a parent that had to be told her child was having a child. My 16 year old son and his girlfriend at the time were expecting. As mad as I was back then, I wouldn't change a thing. My grandson will be 9 this year and he's the light of my life along with his 2 1/2 year old brother.**

 **So, let's see how everyone reacts to the news of a new Cullen member.**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns all characters and I own all the mistakes.**

 **2/10/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 28**

 **BPOV**

* * *

We sat up, with me between his legs. He wrapped his arms around me, placing his hands on my stomach. "We'll get through this. You won't be going through this alone."

"Thank you. I feel like I'm screwing up your whole life, though. Your baseball career and anything beyond that." I placed my hands over his, leaning my head back against his shoulder. "Why do I feel like the whole world is attacking me?"

"It's not, baby. And you're not screwing up my life. I've been thinking about quitting baseball anyway. It's getting boring for me and I honestly don't think that's what I wanna do for the rest of my life, anymore." He placed a kiss on my temple. "I have bigger and better things to look forward to now."

I thought back to the conversation we had a while back about him getting his business degree if his baseball career didn't pan out the way he wanted. It still felt like I was responsible for forcing him into making a decision so abruptly.

"I guess we better head back. I'm sure my Mom's looking out here, wondering what's going on." I moved so he could stand up. He reached down, pulling me with him. "Let's go talk to my Mom. Maybe she could give us some advice since she's the only parent who knows."

"You think she told your Dad?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "She could've, but we won't know until we go talk to her." He grabbed the picnic basket while I started folding up the blanket. "C'mon, let's get this over with."

It seemed like it took forever for us to make the short walk back to the house. I was a little more at ease now that Edward knew. He seemed okay with the baby and now the hard part of telling my parents, awaited us.

I knew my parents were going to be highly upset. What parents wouldn't be mad? I was more afraid of the outcome of the whole situation.

Our talk with Esme was very reassuring and she explained why she felt it was all her fault.

Apparently, when she put that fertility spell on my Mom, she didn't think about me standing next to her when she did it, which in turn, led to me getting pregnant the very next day. But, from all the wondering, Mom was already pregnant when Esme decided to give her a little help, but she was unaware. They wanted it to be a complete surprise for everyone. They had found out the week after Thanksgiving that she was pregnant.

Esme was so beside herself and apologized profusely, over and over, promising she'd be there for us when we told my parents. Carlisle did know and was highly upset at first when she told him, but as soon as she explained her part in it, he calmed down slightly and agreed to help us out the best he could.

Esme and Carlisle, offered me a place to stay if things were to go downhill. I thanked them and thanked God that they loved me enough to be there for me, Edward and our unborn child. I was completely thankful that they were taking things so much better than what I expected.

Esme invited my Mom, Dad and Phil over for dinner. We wanted to share the news while we were all together. When I left my house the next day to hang out with Edward for a while before everyone else got there, I noticed a car parked at the corner when I pulled up at the stop sign. I squinted my eyes to try and see who it was; it was Anthony and he must've been watching my house. I squealed my tires as I pushed on my gas pedal. I tried to go as fast as I could, without drawing attention or endangering myself or my precious cargo. He followed me, staying pretty close to the back of my car.

I didn't normally use my phone as I drove, but I wanted to make sure Edward knew I was on my way and that Anthony was following me. _"Hey, baby. You on your way?"_

"Yeah, but Anthony's following me. Can you make sure you're outside when I get there?"

 _"Definitely; be careful,"_ he sighed, heavily. _"I love you,"_ he said before I told him I loved him, in return and ended the call.

Anthony was relentless with pursuing me. It wasn't going to work, though. He wasn't gaining anything by being a complete idiot. All it did was make me hate him even more.

When I finally pulled into Edward's driveway, he was standing outside waiting for me. He was at my door as soon as I put the car in park. I looked in my rear-view mirror to see if Anthony was going to stop, but he peeled out, leaving heavy gray smoke from his tires, lingering behind his car as he sped away. I sighed in relief knowing that he was just taunting me and not trying to physically harm me, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try another time.

Edward reached his hand inside the car. "C'mon, baby."

"I need to call my dad and let him know." After I got off the phone with my Dad, we made our way inside the house. We were watching some movies and lounging around until it was time for dinner.

When my parents arrived, they were all smiles and I felt like it would be my fault that their smiles were going to disappear.

I was nervous the whole day. Esme kept reassuring me that everything would work out. She promised that there would be _no magic_ involved to ensure the outcome.

Dinner was pleasant. Again, I forced my food down, trying to keep my panicking nerves at bay. I had a feeling Mom was getting the vibe that something was going on. She kept giving me a knowing look.

When dinner was finished, Esme requested that everyone stay at the table. Edward and I were huddled together with a huge target on our chests.

Esme took her seat back at the table after clearing it, leaving the dishes until after our talk. She looked up at me and Edward then over at my parents. "Thanks for coming to dinner, but there was actually an ulterior motive behind it." She motioned her hands toward us. " But, Edward and Bella have something to tell us."

"What's goin' on?" My Dad questioned, his stare darting between all of us.

Edward sat up in his chair, squaring his shoulders. "Well, sir," he sighed, squeezing my hand. "Bella's pregnant."

"What?!" Mom screeched, nearly jumping from her seat. Phil caught her by the shoulders and made her sit back down.

Dad slammed his fist down on the table. "NO! This better be a Goddamned joke!" His eyes were full of fury.

"It's not," I sobbed. "I'm sorry." I bowed my head, tucking it behind Edwards shoulder.

"Isabella Marie Swan, how could you? You were put on birth control, for Christ-sakes! How could you let this happen?" Mom was definitely pissed, but nowhere near as livid as Dad.

Dad stood up from the table. "Excuse me?! Birth control? Since when was she put on birth control?" He paced the length of the room at the end of the table, waiting for my Mom to answer him. "Obviously it didn't fuckin' work! My seventeen year-old daughter is not having a baby!"

"Charlie, that's irrelevant now..." My Mom started to answer his questions, but I was near combustion with anger toward his words.

"Excuse me?!" I questioned him angrily. "What do you suggest I do then, Dad?"

"Bella, you're seventeen. What about college? Are you gonna throw that away to become a mother?" My Dad was rubbing his temples like he was warding off a headache.

Mom shook her head. "I can't believe you let this happen."

"It's not like we meant for it to happen. It was an accident and I can still go to college. You did and so did Dad." I shook my head, taking a deep breath before speaking again. "So it's okay for you both to be hypocrites, right now, because if I remember correctly, you weren't much older than me if not the same age, when Mom got pregnant with me. If you can get your college education and have a baby, then so can we."

Dad grumbled. "Do as we say, not as we do. I thought we raised you better than this."

"Dad, it's not the end of the world," I stressed. "I understand you're both upset and I'm sorry for that, but Edward and I have decided to keep the baby." Edward squeezed my hand, agreeing with me.

"If you won't abort it, then you'll put it up for adoption," Dad said angrily, folding his arms across his chest to signify that he was calling the shots.

It was my turn to smack the table. "We will not! You can't make us! This is our decision and we're keeping our baby whether you like it or not!"

My dad dropped his arms like he was defeated, his facial expression dropped and he turned and left the room. I didn't know where he was going, but I knew I needed to give him a few minutes to cool down.

"Charlie?" Mom called, wondering where her dear friend was off to.

"Let him go," Phil said, draping an arm around my mother's shoulder and kissing her temple.

We were quiet for a good five to ten minutes before anyone so much as took a deep breath.

"Bella, I'm disappointed with the both of you, right now." Mom glanced up at Esme and Carlisle. "What do you two have to say about this?" Mom seemed so sad, but she was keeping her anger in check, so far, during this conversation.

"We're not happy because they're so young, but we've decided to support them on whatever decision they make," Carlisle said, looking over at Esme. "Whatever they need, we'll help them."

Esme spoke up next. "Renee, this is our grandchild, whether it be now or in the future. That's why we decided to support them. They're scared and need our support and guidance." Esme was always the calm talker. She was trying her hardest to reason with them. I really wasn't so sure that, this time, it would work for anyone's benefit.

My dad must have been standing outside the kitchen listening, because he stepped around the corner to make more demands. "Fine, if they won't put it up for adoption or abort it, Edward has to marry her. I refuse to allow my daughter to be an un-wed mother. It's bad enough she's a teenager, for fuck-sakes." This bomb that my Dad just dropped on us, was even bigger than the whole pregnancy.

"Now, you hold on right there, Charles Jonathon Swan , you can't make Edward marry her. What if they don't wanna get married? You can't make that decision for them!" I was surprised Mom took that scolding tone with him. He looked at her like her head was spinning.

Before my Dad could respond to what my Mom said, Edward spoke up. "I'll marry her. Whatever Charlie wants. I wanted to marry her once she was eighteen anyway. It'll only be eight months sooner?" Edward looked between my parents as he spoke. He had told me that he wanted to marry me someday, but I didn't realize it would've been right after I turn eighteen. I wasn't even sure I wanted to get married right now.

Mom started sobbing uncontrollably and Phil pulled her into a hug to soothe her.

"Is this what you want, Bella?" Phil asked, looking over at me as he still held my mother.

"Yes, I guess I do. Edward's right; it's just sooner rather than later," I replied, squeezing Edwards hand. He gave me an assuring smile.

Esme spoke up next. "You sure this is what you both want? There's no turning back once you've made that commitment. Having a baby is a lot of work and then marriage? You're both teenagers?" We nodded, giving our answer that yes, we did want this. "Okay then, just know that you do have our support, regardless."

Edward and I both nodded. "They won't wait, then," Dad said. "I am, by far from happy about this, but you're right Esme, that's our grandchild and I don't want it born a bastard."

"Charles!" Mom yelled.

"Look, Renee, my little ten minute break had me thinking. I'm giving them the same options your father gave me when you got pregnant with Bella. It'll take some time for us to get used to this, but we need to do this for them," he said, waving his hand in the air. I, all of a sudden, became confused.

"So now you're the negotiator and not the punisher?" Mom asked. "Not ten minutes ago, you were giving them options of abortion then adoption after that."

Dad sighed. "Like I said, Renee, these are the same options your dad gave us and I refuse to lose my daughters trust over this." He shook his head. "I'm her father..." He smacked his hands together like he was karate chopping it. "...and I'm supposed to protect her. I know she loves him and vice versa, and I know Edward would take a bullet for her."

Edward and I sat there listening as they planned our lives for us. I wasn't sure if I needed to throw a temper tantrum about it, or let them do it. I was only seventeen after all and still under my parents care. They were being the judge and the jury for us.

"They can live here in the pool house," Carlisle started to say. "It's set up as an apartment already and has two bedrooms," Carlisle suggested, looking over at Esme for approval.

"Edward can work with me part time and put all that money in the bank. We can help with the amenities, but any extra stuff that isn't a necessity, they'll have to provide for themselves." Carlisle continued to lay out all the ground rules and stipulations. "When Bella has the baby, I've heard about a satellite program through the school where she could homeschool and graduate when she's supposed to."

"All this sounds reasonable; I only wish it weren't happening," Mom said, sighing and laying her head on Phil's shoulder. "She has enough credits to graduate this year; she'll just need to take the test."

I didn't pay attention to what my mom just said. I was more caught up on the subject of working. "I could get a job, too," I suggested.

"You will not!" Dad demanded, then retreated to calmness. "Not until we know Anthony is long gone; dead or moved away. I don't care which of those options he chooses."

"What's goin' on with that situation, Charlie?" Phil asked, completely changing the subject. I sighed in relief, silently thanking Phil. That took my dad's mind off the pregnancy matter for at least five minutes.

Dad shook his head. "There's not much I can do, right now. He hasn't tried to harm her and he pretty much leaves her alone, except earlier today."

Mom's head popped up. "What happened today?"

"He was parked at the corner down the street from the house and followed me over here," I explained, glad that there was a change of topic, but it was still based on me.

Moms' eyes grew wide. "Did he say anything to you?"

"No, he kept going once I parked in the driveway," I replied.

"He has to be up to something." Phil shook his head. "Biding his time. He has to be, but for what?" I knew it was only a rhetorical question, but I also knew Phil was just as concerned as everyone else.

Dad sat back down at the table, his calm demeanor present. "Can we all continue to agree that she can't be left alone, whatsoever? If we all go out to eat, someone needs to go with her to the restroom, if she needs to go. And Bella, at school, try and keep your bathroom breaks between classes and make sure someone's always with you. I'll pull you outta that school if I have to and you can start homeschooling as soon as possible."

"I'd like to try and stay in school for right now. At least until I start showing. I can even do what mom suggested. I can take that test so I can go ahead and graduate this year with Edward," I said, hating the idea of going all day without seeing Edward if I were to homeschool. I didn't have many friends, but the few I did have, I really liked them, but I'd be okay if I didn't see them every day.

Dad nodded. "Okay, well, you need to make that decision by this weekend. I don't know what the deadline is for that. Your mom can help you out. Now, after you two are married, Bella, you'll be automatically emancipated as an adult as soon as you two say your I dos'. All I'm asking is, make your decisions wisely. I do understand that accidents happen. I know better than anyone about them and please don't hesitate to ask any of us for help. You two will be raising this baby. There won't be any chances for you two to pawn the baby off on any of us unless it's a necessity. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir." Edward and I both answered. "Crystal."

"Good; do you and Carlisle agree, Esme?" My Dad asked, looking between the two of them.

Carlisle and Esme looked at each other. Carlisle nodded and Esme answered. "Yes."

"As far as medical insurance, Bella's covered through mine, but I'm not sure about once they get married. She may need to get on state assistance, but I'll find out. Carlisle, do you mind checking this out with your insurance also? Having a baby isn't cheap, so we'll do the best we can so there won't be too much out of pocket cost." Dad was on a roll with putting all the stipulations on the table. Edward and I just sat back and listened to them plan out our lives.

Carlisle nodded, agreeing with my Dad. "I'll call first thing Monday morning and get the info." He looked over at Edward. "I'll also get it all set up for you to start work next week. You can work thirty hours a week, but only around practice. I really don't want you quitting the team. There's been scouts scoping you out at games."

Edward shook his head. "I'm not gonna pursue a baseball career anymore, Dad. I've decided to get my business degree and maybe take law. I don't wanna take the chance of being away from Bella and the baby. The University here is perfect for what I want to major in. We'll see, but I know now that a career in baseball isn't what I want."

Carlisle sighed. I wasn't sure if he was pissed or not. His face was unreadable.

"As long as you're sure, son. That's another big decision. You'll have to start making all these choices with Bella, as your wife, as soon as you're married. All we can do, as parents, is give you advice. You two made the decision to have sex, so now, it's all up to you two," Esme said. I knew only to make sure her concerns were stated. Then she looked up at Carlisle, "With baseball not an issue, he can work longer hours after graduation, right?"

He gave her a small smile. "Yes, and once he starts college, we'll work with his schedule."

I looked at Edward as he paid attention to the conversation his parents were having. I gave him a poke to the ribs with my finger. He looked down at me. "You okay?"

He gave me a sincere smile. "More than okay."

Mom piped in after listening quietly. "If Esme could help me..." She sighed, seeming defeated. "...we'll get the wedding set up for two weeks from now, on a Saturday. You can invite who you want, but don't go overboard. I think just close personal friends and family should be enough."

Esme nodded in agreement. "If you'll get all the legal documentation signed and notarized, we can go with them to acquire a marriage license. I can get the minister set up and a small reception planned."

"Bella, you're on punishment until Saturday after next," Dad said.

"What?!" I exclaimed. "What good is that gonna do me? I'm already pregnant, Dad."

"Don't remind me," he said. "Plus, I'm only joking, but you will take these next two weeks to get your room packed up and ready to move. Another thing, I think one of you need to sell your car. You only use one car right now, as it is. You can put that money into a shared checking account and use it wisely until Bella gets her first inheritance installment when she turns eighteen. You'll get the rest when you turn twenty-five." I wondered how many more demands and stipulations were going to be made. It was like we weren't making our own decisions about anything, right now.

"I'll sell my truck," Edward said, glancing down at me. "The Xterra has a bigger back seat and can fit a car seat better." I looked at him wide eyed. "What? I like your car better than my truck and your Dad's right, we mostly use your car anyway."

"You love your truck, though." I pouted up at him, giving him puppy dog eyes. "What about all your baseball stuff? It won't all fit in my car." I knew he said he was quitting baseball, but I was playing stupid at the moment. I didn't want him to sell his truck and I definitely didn't want to sell my car.

Edward quirked one eyebrow at me. "Bella, have you not seen your trunk? There's a hatchback on it and you could probably fit six full grown Malamute dogs in there."

"Yeah, but..."

He cut me off before I could say anything else. "The truck goes, Bella. We need the money and I could probably get up to fifteen grand for it the way it is."

I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest. "Fine."

"That's settled." Dad looked at Phil. "Phil, you've been awfully quiet; this affects you, too. You have any comments or suggestions?"

"I do love Bella as my own daughter and I just want her to be happy. Edward's a good kid and I know he'll take good care of her. I'll kick his ass if he steps outta line, though," Phil said, sincerely.

"Stand in line; I'll be the first," I shot back at his comment.

Mom chuckled. "In that case, there won't be any of him left for the rest of us."

"Hello! I'm right here," Edward said, waving his arms in the air. "Don't I have any say about that?"

"No!" Carlisle, Esme, my Mom, Dad and Phil, all said at the same time. "Same goes with Bella. Just continue being friends. Even though you'll be married, doesn't mean things have to change from the way they are now except you'll be living together," Carlisle advised as we listened intently.

After the longest conversation of our lives, we finally called it a night. I sighed in relief that it turned out a whole lot better than I expected it to. I knew our parents were still upset and may take a while to come to terms with the situation, but I knew now, that in the long run, we have their support.

 **EPOV**

I had just gotten off the phone with Bella, telling her goodnight and that I loved her.

The last couple of days have been so beyond crazy and unbelievable. I was still overwhelmed with the fact that she was pregnant. I _**should**_ be pissed and hurt that it happened. I was eighteen and _**should**_ be worrying about college and thinking about what party I wanted to go to the following weekend. I _**should**_ be doing a lot of things and not becoming a teenage father, but I couldn't think of a better woman to have all this happen with. She's under my skin like a tattoo. I only see her. To me, no other women exist in my world.

Placing my hand over my heart, it was racing just thinking about her. She's my sun and completely imbedded inside my soul permanently. She lights up everyone's day and puts a smile on my face no matter how bad the situation might be.

Bella's refreshing to me. I sigh in relief and give one huge exhale of air when I know she's within arm's length. I know I can breathe properly when she's around me. My breath still hitches when I look at her; her beauty is enough to take anyone's breath away.

Bella is my life; I already knew that, and now, we're having a baby together. My heart felt like it couldn't get any bigger as I thought about our impending parentage. But as I lay here on my bed and think about a little girl or a little boy, running around and putting smiles on everyone's face, my heart continues to swell with pride. I was excited about what the future held for us...together.

Yes, our parents were disappointed in us, but I knew we could prove to them that we could do this. We will be the best parents to our baby and I could be the best husband for Bella. She's that tattoo that's marked me for life, and our baby is only making it bigger and brighter for everyone to see.

* * *

 **I know it's not enough Edward, but I didn't want to give too much away in this chapter.**

 **RTB**


	29. Chapter 29

**Okay, so, I was gonna hold off on another chapter, but I just got some AWESOME NEWS!**

 **I was nominated for an award for this story. The Undiscovered Gem Award!**

 **Whoever you are, I CAN NOT thank you enough. I probably won't win anything, but the nomination is enough for me. This is, by far, is the best news I've gotten in a long time. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns all the characters and I own all the mistakes.**

 **2/10/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 29**

 **EPOV**

* * *

"Dude, I can't believe Bella's pregnant," Jasper said as we made our way toward the Gym to change for practice. I was quitting the team today, but no one knew except Bella and our parents.

I stopped abruptly, turning to stand in front of him. "Listen, don't blab this to anyone. We're trying to keep it low profile for as long as we can. And I need a huge favor."

"Name it, brother. You know I'll always do what I can for you," he said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"I need a best-man and you've become a really good friend to me and I want it to be you." I stuck my hands into the pockets of my jeans, looking straight into Jasper's' face for his reaction.

He put his hands up. "Whoa, back up just a sec; a best-man?"

I nodded, answering his question. "Yeah, Bella and I are getting married in two weeks. It's what we want and her Dad insisted that I marry her because she's pregnant."

"Dude, are you sure about this? You're only eighteen; that's a huge step to take at such a young age," he said, incredulously. I was almost positive that Jaspers first word was Dude.

"Jasper, it's not as big as Bella being pregnant at seventeen. We know we can do this. I wanted to marry her when she turned eighteen, anyway. It's just sooner rather than later. She'll be eighteen in September." He still had a quizzical look on his face like he was trying to decipher a nuclear puzzle.

He shook his head. "Well, as long as you two know what you want, I'm there for ya, brother. I suppose that if it were me and Alice, we'd be heading in that direction, too."

"Please don't knock my sister up? Use as many precautions as you possibly can." I shook my head, putting my hand up. "Actually, I don't even wanna know if you two are doing it, so don't even elaborate on that statement."

He chuckled, nodding his head at me.

We started walking toward the Gym, again. I stopped, putting my arm out in front of Jasper to get his attention. Anthony was standing outside the doors where we had to enter. He had a girl on each arm, one being Tanya Denali.

I had seen him the Friday before. We definitely look like each other, but my hair was lighter than his and I was more muscular in build. Our eyes were close to the same color and my skin was way darker. But with him being a Vampire, I knew he could kill me with one flick of his wrist, so I was trying to avoid him as much as possible.

"Look, just ignore him. That's the best thing to do, okay," Jasper said, trying to convince me not to say anything to Anthony.

I sighed, heavily. "I don't know if I can. He hurt Bella and he follows her around like he's waiting for the perfect moment to strike."

"That may be, but don't give him any ammunition to strike with. He's looking for trouble." If Jasper only knew what he was, he'd be heading in the other direction, away from where Anthony stood, glaring at us.

When I glanced up, I see Anthony drape his arms across both girls' shoulders. They were giggling and soaking up every word he said. They started walking toward us. When they were about ten feet away, Anthony spoke. "Well, well, well, if it isn't my long lost cousin, Edward. It's good to see ya, buddy. How's my leftovers?"

"Fuck you," I spat, gritting my teeth together. "Stay the fuck away from Bella. She doesn't want anything to do with you."

"Now, why would I want anything to do with her when I've got all these pretty little things, right here, to keep me occupied? I think you're imagining things, cousin." He smiled, evilly at me before walking away.

"I fuckin' hate that guy." I started walking toward the Gym. "C'mon, let's get practice over with."

Practice was good, but the coach was upset when I told him I was quitting the team. He told me he was losing his best pitcher, but he understood why I made the choice I did after I explained to him what was going on. He, himself, had been in a similar situation when he was younger, and fortunately, he said he and his wife were still happily married after twenty-five years, and has no regrets, whatsoever. That gave me plenty of hope for mine and Bella's future.

On practice days, I normally drove my truck leaving Alice and Bella riding to school together, so after practice, I went straight to Bella's house. When I arrived, she was putting books into boxes. "Hey, baby," I said when I entered her room. Her Mom and Phil were downstairs in the kitchen. Renee was getting dinner started and said she'd let us know when it was ready.

Bella stopped what she was doing and came at me. She wrapped her arms around my neck, sobbing into my chest. "Hey, what's going on?"

"I'm just having a bad day." She mumbled into my chest. "It started when I got up this morning. I was sick and couldn't get motivated. Then at school, after our class together, Anthony was messing with me. He's got his groupies calling me all sorts of names and laughing at me. I don't know if I can handle it," she explained, sobbing, as I led her over to the bed for us to sit down. "They keep saying that Anthony's leftovers are rotten and need to be thrown out."

I sighed, pulling her into my lap. "We just need to ignore them, okay. He messed with me today, too, but nothing happened. He's just all talk, no action, right now. Let's just hope it stays that way."

"I know he's compelling those girls to say that stuff to me. I just don't know why he's making such a big deal out of all this and won't leave me alone. When he's by himself, he looks at me like, I don't know, like he can't bear to be away from me."

"I don't know, baby. We just need to take things one day at a time. We've got bigger and better things to look forward to. For instance, you my love, need to get your ass in gear and get this room packed up," I said, teasing her, poking my finger into her side.

She got up from my lap, smacking at me playfully and walked around her bed. "Don't worry, I'll have it all packed up by this weekend. I really don't have all that much. How's your stuff coming along?"

"Jasper's coming over tomorrow after school to help me get my stuff moved in. My parents said I can go ahead and start staying out there. In that case, I can go ahead and get my shit done and we'll only have your stuff to deal with over the weekend." I got up from my spot on the bed and started helping her put more books into the box she was working on. "Oh, and by the way, you're gonna love the bed we'll be sharing. It's better than both of ours put together."

She smiled up at me, sighing before stopping what she was doing and kissed me. "I can't believe we'll be married in less than two weeks. We'll be sleeping together every night and we won't have to worry about who's gonna call whom first before bed, or worry if someone's gonna come home and catch us having sex."

"I know." I put my hands on her hips and pulled her to me. "You still sure you wanna marry me? You know you don't have to, right?"

She snaked her arms up around my neck, rising up on her tip toes and pressed her lips to mine, once again. "I'm positive." Then she giggled. "In more ways than one, actually."

"You're funny."

There was a knock at the door and Renee stuck her head in. "Hey, you two, dinners done." She stepped in, walking over to the bed and peering into the box that Bella had been putting books in. "How's it coming?"

"It's getting there. I should have it all done by this weekend, then all I'll have to worry about is all my clothes. I'm not taking any furniture with me because the apartment's already furnished," Bella explained, adding two more books to her box and closing up the flaps.

"Good, good." Renee started walking toward the door. "Oh, um, tomorrow morning, you two will be going into school late so we can head downtown and get the marriage license. I went today and got what paperwork I needed and went to the bank and had them notarized. All that's left is the license."

"Thanks, Mom," Bella said, following behind her to the door.

"Yeah, thanks, Renee. I was gonna ask, um...is it okay if we go ahead and miss the whole day tomorrow? I'd like to take Bella up to the mall so we can pick out our rings." I already had an engagement ring for her. I had snuck off to the mall the night before and picked one out. I made sure it wasn't anything too extravagant.

Renee smiled, nodding lightly. It didn't reach her eyes like her smiles normally did. I knew this whole situation was still eating at her and it probably would for a while. "Yeah, that'll be okay."

Bella caught up with her mom and pulled her into a hug. "Thanks, Mom."

Renee hugged her back and I could see the strength she was putting behind her embrace. "You're welcome, baby girl." Then Renee started crying. "I can't believe this is happening. You weren't supposed to be married until you were old and gray, but now you're getting married and having a baby; I'm losing my baby."

"Oh, Mom. Please, don't cry? I'm still your baby." Bella tried soothing her mom the best that she could. "I'll always be your baby even when the new baby is born."

"You're all grown up; it was too fast." Renee continued to sob into Bella's shoulder. "I can't believe I'm gonna be a grandma and a new mom at the same time."

Was it wrong for me to want to laugh at her? Yeah, it probably was, so that's why I kept my mouth shut and let them have their moment.

"Mom, we'll still see each other all the time and we can even make our appointments together if you want." That seemed like logical reasoning.

Renee pulled back from their hug, looking at Bella with huge tears rolling down her cheeks. "You'd do that? Share appointments with me, I mean?"

"Of course. Well, as long as you don't mind Edward tagging along, too. And I'm sure Phil's gonna want to be there for most of your appointments, as well." Bella was right about me tagging along. I wasn't missing a single one, if I had anything to do with it.

Renee pulled Bella into another bone crushing hug. "This'll all work out. We can experience our pregnancies together." And now, Renee's mood swings were starting to give me whip-lash. I only hoped Bella didn't develop any like her mothers.

After Bella and Renee had their endearing moment, we finally made our trek down to the kitchen.

Dinner lingered quietly for a little while. All that could be heard were forks scraping plates and glasses being sat back down on the table after each drink. Renee kept glancing up at us as if she wanted to say something, but continued eating.

Finally, before everyone was done eating, Renee spoke up. "So, I've got this friend that I met on Facebook, and we've been exchanging recipes with each other. She lives in England and some of the stuff she tells me about sounds soooo good, but the names of them are so funny. Have you ever heard of Spotted Dick or Toad in the Hole?"

Phil nearly spit his drink across the table as he burst out laughing. "Are you serious? Spotted Dick?"

Renee continued on, ignoring Phil's small outburst, telling us about her friend from England. She told us about Yorkshire Pudding and how she couldn't wait to make some. I had no clue what the shit was, but the way she started to described it, the stuff actually sounded delicious. I wondered where the hell someone came up with a name like Spotted Dick for something that resembled cake?

"Well, I'm gonna make it one time." Renee took a bite of her food. "Oh, Bella, your first appointment's on Monday. It's at one in the afternoon, so Edward, if you're wanting to go, you'll need to take half day off of school." I nodded, agreeing with her before she took a drink of her tea, looking over at Phil. "Will you be available for next Thursday? That's my first appointment."

"Absolutely," he answered with a smile. "Count on it."

Dinner continued on and before we knew it, I needed to leave for home. It was already past ten and Bella was sitting beside me yawning, which in turn, was causing me to yawn.

She walked me out to my truck and we stood, with my arms around her lower waist, kissing like two love struck teenagers, which we actually were. I _couldn't_ get enough of her and I _couldn't_ wait until we were living together. We would be at each other's disposal anytime we felt the desire for each other. I wanted her right at this very moment, but she was tired, and in turn, I was tired myself.

"I love you," I whispered along her neck as I kissed up behind her ear. My tiredness was dissipating and I knew I was turning her on. I was hoping for some groping before I left, but I wasn't expecting it.

She eased her hands under my shirt, playing with the hair that led into my pants. "I love you, too. You're driving me crazy, right now. You know how bad I wanna sneak to the side of the house and bend over for you?"

I kissed and nibbled on her neck, groaning at the thought of what she just described, easing my way up to her ear where I pulled her earlobe into my mouth and sucked on it. "How bad?" I asked in a whisper. I grabbed her hand and placed it over the bulge in my pants. She gripped me, giving me a little squeeze. "Bella?"

"C'mon, I can't take it anymore. We're sneaking back to the pool-house."

"What if your mom comes looking for you? She can see my truck's still in the driveway." I already knew that Renee and Phil called it a night around nine and were probably snoring as we spoke.

Bella let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, right. She's probably snoring Phil's hearing away, as we speak."

She continued to lead the way, opening the side gate, quietly. I hoped the damned thing didn't squeak.

We hurried inside the pool-house, closing the door and locking it. It wasn't large; it only had a small kitchen, a bathroom and another room with a couch, love-seat and a coffee table. It was like a small studio apartment.

Bella pushed me toward the couch, working on the button and zipper of my pants. I yanked my shirt over my head, then reached down, pulling hers off, as well. Her yoga pants were next, with her panties.

Next thing I knew, she was straddling me, not hesitating to grab my aching cock and lining it up with her entrance. I could feel how wet she was and there was definitely no turning back now.

She eased down on me, clutching the back of the couch. I leaned forward, capturing one of her nipples between my lips, sucking lightly. I knew they were sore, so I threw caution to the wind and devoured her tits as they started bouncing in my face.

I held onto her hips, guiding her over me. Each time she'd come down on me, I'd pull harder, giving more friction where we were connected.

She arched backwards, pushing her tits into my face more. I'd never get tired of looking at her perfect body. I knew it was changing, but that didn't mean I'd love her any less. She was growing my child inside of her and any changes that happened to her body, made me love her more.

I looked down, seeing where we were connected. I felt a flutter in my stomach and I knew I was getting close. "Look, baby," I requested. "Watch yourself ride me."

Between thrusts, she moved her head, peering down where my dick was completely sheathed inside of her. We could hear the wetness that was seeping from her body. It made my ego swell beyond words. I was making her soaking wet and as long as I could always get her this riled up, we'd never have a problem with our sex life.

She glanced up at me, then grabbed around my neck, pulling me to her. She crashed her lips to mine before she began to frantically move over me. I was helping her and I knew she'd probably have my fingertip bruises on her hips the next day.

I groaned loudly as the tension began to build stronger with each movement as we were joined together. Her whimpering grew louder, which were turning into breathy moans. Each time she exhaled, the most erotic sound came from her mouth. "Oh, God, Edward, I love you so much."

I began thrusting up into her, meeting her pivoting hips with mine. I felt my dick swell before I gripped her hips, tighter, stilling her as I emptied inside of her. "Fuck! That was quick, but it sure as hell felt damn good."

"Good?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. "I'd say more like...exhilarating, awesome, fan-fucking-tastic."

I kissed her neck. "All the above. There's no true words to describe how you make me feel."

"Ditto." She moved to get up, my dick falling out with ease. I was soaked with both of our arousal's and I knew I'd be nice and crusty by the time I got home, so I made my way into the small bathroom to clean up.

Once we were both dressed, I still couldn't keep my hands to myself. I grasped her around her waist, pulling her to me. I, immediately, crashed my lips to hers, not hesitating to stick my tongue down her throat. She didn't pull away, only wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing me back.

After a few, breathless minutes, I pulled out of the kiss and looked down at her. She was so beautiful. I still wondered how I got so lucky that she came into my life. And from the starry-eyed look that she gave me, I knew she felt the same as I did.

I wasn't having second thoughts, but I wanted to make sure that she was still wanting to be with me for the long haul.

I sighed, pushing some hair from her face. "I love you. Please never forget that, okay?"

"Okay," she whispered, smiling lightly.

"I'm gonna ask one last time. Are you sure you wanna marry me because I don't want you to regret..."

She cut me off with her finger over my lips. "Edward." Then she placed her whole hand over my mouth when I tried to talk, again. "Stop!" She hissed. "Look, yes, we're young. Yes, I'm only seventeen, but that doesn't mean that I'm too immature to make a decision like this. I know what I want. We wouldn't be together if I didn't. You saw how cautious I was to even start talking to you, in the first place. I love you, Edward. With my whole heart, and if you're having second thoughts about this, just say it instead of trying to coerce me into doing something I don't want to. I'm a big girl and I've been let down enough that I think I can handle it."

Her statement pissed me off. I backed away from her, pulling at my hair. "Coerce you? How can you say that? And first of all, I'm not having second thoughts. AT. ALL!" My voice raised a little, but not enough to be a full blown yell. She looked taken aback, but I wasn't letting her get away with her statement, easily. "I can't believe you just fuckin' said that. How can you even think for one second that I'd try to get you to back outta this? Do I act like I don't wanna get married?"

I was throwing my questions out, left and right, not giving her a chance to answer.

I saw tears forming in her eyes, but I was too angry to try and sooth her.

I shook my head, rubbing my hands over my face. "Bella, do you really not see how much I love you? I want this more than anything, right now. My heart hurts when I'm not around you. We're connected, can you not feel it?"

"I feel it," she whispered, a sob breaking from her chest. "I love you; I'm sorry. I didn't mean it the way it sounded."

Her crying was making me physically hurt, so I stepped back in front of her, raising her chin with my finger. "Please stop thinking negative when it comes to my feelings for you, okay? I'm not trying to get you to back out. I'd never do that. I want this...I want us, too much to even think of such a thing."

"I'm sorry," she cried, wrapping her arms around me, sobbing into my chest. "I love you, more than anything. I want this. I want us, forever."

"Me too, baby." I moved back, placing one hand on her shoulder and the other, I used to wipe away her tears. "Now, stop crying and kiss me because I really need to go. It's almost midnight and we're both exhausted. I'm sorry for blowing up at you, like that." I leaned down, pressing my lips to hers.

"I'm sorry, too." Then she giggled, using the back of her hand to wipe away her tears then her nose. "Was that our first real fight?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I wouldn't call it a fight, per se. More like a small argument; a spat."

"Well, I don't like it." She linked her fingers with mine, leading us to the door so I could leave. "Can we forget I even said something like that? I know you love me and I didn't mean to piss you off."

I stopped us in our tracks. "Just remember to always talk to me about stuff, okay. I don't know half the stuff you're thinking, so you need to use that voice of yours and those lips...in more ways than one..." I traced her bottom lip with my thumb. "...to say what you mean, okay."

"Okay," she agreed, smiling up at me. She snaked her tongue out, catching the tip of my thumb as I caressed it over her lip, once more. "I love you."

I leaned down, pressing my lips to hers, urging them open with my tongue. She complied, leading the kiss into a frenzy that we didn't have time for. I gave in for only a moment before pulling away. "I've gotta go, baby. C'mon, I'll walk you to the front door then I'll leave. I need to make sure you lock the door before I even pull outta the driveway."

We said our good-nights, with me leaving once I knew the front door was locked and secure.

I knew she had to be nervous about the whole situation. Her being pregnant and then us getting married in less than two weeks. I won't lie and say I'm not. What eighteen year old, wouldn't be, but like I had told her, it's what I want and she said the same thing, and I believe her. She hadn't given me any reason to believe otherwise. She's become my life and I'm nothing without her.

* * *

 **These two give mushy a whole new meaning.**

 **RTB**


	30. Chapter 30

**Okay, I'm stopping at 30 tonight. I really wanna get started typing up my next story.**

 **I really hope you guys/ladies are enjoying this. I've been surprising myself and smiling like a loon when something happens.**

 **I know nothing of Florida. This is all fictional areas and how I pictured them.**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns all characters and I own all the mistakes.**

 **2/10/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 30**

 **BPOV**

* * *

I felt like a ton of bricks just lying in my bed. I couldn't seem to wake up. We had so much to do today and I couldn't get motivated.

I was excited about everything that was happening. I didn't want to show too much exuberance in front of my parents, though. I knew they were still coming to terms with what's going on. Their seventeen year old daughter was having a baby and would be getting married sooner than they wanted.

I only hoped I didn't do anything else to let them down.

It took some doing, but I finally got my tired butt out of bed and showered.

I was surprised to see Esme in the kitchen when I entered. She was placing bacon on a plate. "Hey, I didn't know you were gonna be here."

She smiled up at me, "I decided to tag along, if that's okay with you."

I sat down at the table and grabbed a plate, "Absolutely. Did Edward say when he was going to be here?"

"He should be here any minute. He was getting in the shower when I left," she explained as my mom entered the room.

She walked over and kissed the top of my head. "Morning, sweetie."

"Morning, Mom," I stuffed a slice of bacon in my mouth and chewed vigorously. I was starving.

"So, here's the plan for the day. First things first, we're going to the county clerk's office to get the marriage license. Hopefully it won't take too long. They open at nine, so by the time we get there, they should be opening the doors. It's only 8:15, right now, so if Edward hurries up, we can leave in about twenty minutes. It only takes about ten to get there." She sat down at the table and began to put food on her plate. Esme joined us before my mom continued. "As per Edwards request, after the clerk's office, we'll head over to the mall so you two can pick out your wedding bands."

I heard the front door open a few minutes later and Edward came walking into the kitchen. "Morning, ladies." He walked over and kissed the top of my head. Just like my mother did. "Hi, baby."

"Hi, sweetie," Esme said. "Grab something to eat so we can get going."

"I'm starving," Edward said as he started loading stuff onto his plate. He was putting enough food for an entire football team in front of him.

I giggled, "Babe, you think you're putting enough food on your plate?"

He nodded with a mouth full of pancakes and bacon. I couldn't help but smile at his handsome face. "I'm eating for two."

"Son, I think maybe Bella should be the one saying that, not you," Esme countered.

Edwards face was a series of pouts towards his mother. I had to hide my laughter from him.

Thirty minutes later, we were walking up the steps to the city-county building. I had small, nervous butterflies invading my stomach. We were almost one step closer to being married.

There were people milling around and taking numbers before we arrived. Thankfully, it didn't take long to be called. The woman serving us kept making sour puss faces at us. We ignored her, of course.

"Why do people always judge when it isn't their place? I mean, really? She kept looking at us like we were the stupidest people alive."

Edward draped his arm over my shoulders as we walked out of the building. "I know, babe. I'm sure she won't be the last person to look at us like that."

"Just ignore them, sweetheart. Who cares what other people think," my mom said as we approached her car.

We made it to the mall and decided to walk around for a bit before we went to the jewelry store. I felt a little wistful about not having an engagement ring, but I'd get over it. I wasn't a materialistic person, after all. Maybe one day, in the future, Edward would buy me one. An anniversary ring of some sort.

We approached the jewelry store and I noticed Edward tense up a little. "What's wrong?"

He let out a long breath, "That's Tanya's mother."

"Who?"

He pointed to a blonde woman behind the counter. "She's..." He shrugged his shoulders. "How can I say this? A bitch?"

"Oh, really?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "You think we should go to another store?"

He thought for minute. "No, screw her. She can mind her own business. We'll use the other sales lady."

"Sweetheart, are you sure?" Esme asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

We entered the store with my mom was on my right, Edward on my left with Esme leading the way. When we approached the counter, the sales lady we intended on doing business with, answered the ringing phone. That's when we were approached by Tanya's mother.

"Hi, welcome to Alden's, can I help..." her words trailed off when she noticed who was standing in front of her. "Edward..." She said with a sneer.

"Beverly." Edward responded.

Beverly then clasped her hands together and perched them on the counter. She plastered a fake smile on her face when she noticed my mother and Esme with us. "Can I help you?"

Esme stepped forward, "Yes, we're looking at wedding rings. Preferably white gold or platinum."

"I got this, mom," Edward said, side stepping his mother and going closer to the counter. "As my mom was saying, we're looking for wedding bands. Preferably white gold or platinum."

"Oooo...kay," Beverly drew out the word like it was acid on her tongue. "Would these be a gift?"

Edward smiled, "No, they're for myself and my fiancé. We're getting married next weekend."

Beverly's face dropped. "Ma...Ma...Married?" Her eyes were huge with disbelief. "But, but..."

Esme stepped forward, "Is there a problem?"

Beverly squared her shoulders and huffed through her nose. "It'll never last," she said under her breath.

"Excuse me,?" Esme and Edward asked at the same time.

"I would never let my Tanya get married so young. It would never last. I think you're letting them make a huge mistake." Beverly stepped back away from the counter when my mom stepped forward.

"First of all, lady. I don't know who you think you are, but your opinion in the matter is none of your damn business. Secondly, you're supposed to be helping us make a purchase, not give unsolicited advice." My mom sneered at the woman, clenching her fists.

Another woman walked over and stood next to Beverly. "Is there a problem I can help with?"

Esme answered for us. "There sure is. Are you the manager?"

"Yes, ma'am." The lady answered.

"Ms. Denali here...," Esme pointed at Beverly. "...is being very rude and unprofessional. We simply wanted to make a purchase and she felt it necessary to give us her unsolicited advice. Our grown children would like to look at wedding bands."

I felt about two feet tall just standing there not sticking up for myself. I suppose Edward was feeling the same way. We were making an adult decision and our mothers were stepping in and speaking for us. But if I were them, I would probably be doing the same thing.

I nudged Edward in the side. He looked down at me. "Let's just go somewhere else. This is bullshit."

He nodded in agreement. "Mom, let's go. We can get them at another store."

My mom stepped forward, placing her hand on Edwards forearm. "Are you sure, honey?"

"Yes," we both answered at the same time. "Markmans is at the other end of the mall," I finished saying.

Esme nodded, being in agreement with us.

Before we could leave, the manager was trying to get us to stay and look around. She even offered a twenty percent discount, but we refused.

When we reached the other jewelry store and began to browse, it didn't take long before we found what we were looking for. They were very simple white gold bands and we opted to have an Infinity symbol engraved into them with my name in one loop and Edwards name in the other. On the inside, we had our wedding date engraved.

It would take a couple of days before we could pick them up, which was okay. We were satisfied as long as we had them before the next weekend.

When we were all done, we headed back to my house. Edward seemed pretty anxious about something. It was a happy anxious, but I just brushed it off at him being excited about the wedding.

When we got home, he was in a hurry to leave. "I just have something really important to do. I promise, I'll be back over later as soon as I'm done, okay?"

"What're you doing?" I gave him my sad face and drew my finger down his chest trying to be seductive.

He kissed my forehead, "It's a secret."

"I thought we didn't keep secrets from each other?"

He smiled down at me and kissed my lips, laughing lightly, "We don't, but this will only be a secret for..." He looked at his watch, "...hopefully, two hours, at the most."

I stuck my lower lip out, pouting like a petulant child. "Fine," I muttered. "Just tell me you love me."

"You'll like it, I promise." He kissed me, again, and headed towards his truck. "I love you, my pouty girl."

I waved, "I love you, too, my secretive finance."

He drove off and I had no clue what to do with myself. I was nearly done packing, so I grabbed my phone, once I made it up to my room, and called Alice.

But, I remembered she was still in school once her voicemail picked up. "Hey, sorry, I forgot you were still in school. Call me. Not important; I'm just bored."

I tossed my phone down on the bed and just laid there looking up at the ceiling. In my head, I kept chanting, _I'm getting married_ , over and over. Which was causing me to freak out.

I sat up so fast that I got dizzy. I couldn't do this. How can I be a wife and a mother? I'm too young. I didn't know anything about being a wife, let alone being a mother. Do they have classes for this sort of thing? My mom seems to handle it okay. But me? Was I able to take this road?

I needed to talk to my mom.

I headed downstairs, looking for her. She was outside watering her plants. "MOM!"

She jerked around, looking stunned. "Mom, I can't do this," I said when I approached her, rubbing my hand across my forehead.

"Honey, can't do what? Is something wrong? Are you feeling okay?" She put her hand on my forehead. "You don't feel like you have a fever."

I pushed her hand away, "No, I feel fine." I shook my head. "I don't think I can do this."

"Do what, honey? Be more specific," she demanded, grabbing my hand and leading us over to the patio chairs. We sat and all I could do was start crying. I put my face in my hands and began rocking back and forth.

"Bella, honey, you're scaring me. Tell me what's going on. I can't help you if you don't tell me." She rubbed her hand up and down my back to try and comfort me.

"I don't know how to be a wife and a mother." I shook my head. "What if I mess us up?" She giggled. She actually giggled at me. "Mom, I'm serious and you're laughing at me?"

"Oh, baby girl," she said, reaching up and wiping my tears away. "I can't give you the answers you're looking for. No one ever knows how to be a wife or a mother when that time comes. It's something you have to learn on your own. I had to learn when I had you and all the mistakes that your father and I made with each other, were because we were still learning. We never adapted to each other and that's why we're where we are today. We're the best of friends now."

Tears continued to roll down my cheeks. "But what if we never adapt to each other like you and Phil have? You two get along great and you never fight."

"Oh, now that's not true. We do have our fits now and then. We just don't do them in front of you. We argue just like any other couple out there. Not every marriage is perfect because no one is perfect, honey. There's plenty of mistakes to be made and you two will learn from them. If we never argued, then there's seriously something wrong. People get on each other's nerves and you two will definitely have those times that you wanna stick shaving cream in his shoes, or something like that." She pushed my hair behind my ear. "Baby girl, you're just having cold feet."

I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her like I'd never see her again. "I'm scared."

"I know, sweetie. Just know that me, your dad, and Phil are all here for you. Night and day, okay?" She pulled from our hug, "You'll do fine," she said, patting my cheek, thensShe giggled again, smacking at her thigh, "Heck, I bet you Edwards doing a little freaking out, himself."

That made me smile, "You think so?"

"I can almost guarantee it. He's a lucky guy to get you. If we didn't like him so much, we wouldn't be allowing all this to happen." She patted my leg. "Now, come help your mom finish watering her flowers."

I felt somewhat better after talking to her. She was right, though. We definitely needed to learn from our mistakes as we took this journey together. I only hoped that nothing changed except us being married and living together.

A couple of hours later, Edward arrived back at my house. Alice was with him. I was surprised to see her considering her and Jasper were connected at the hip constantly.

"Hey," I said, hugging her. "I thought you'd be with Jasper."

"Eh...my brother needed me for something. I have no clue as to what, though," she said, giving Edward a look that only a brother and sister can share.

We made our way into the kitchen where I was making a snack for myself, but since Edward and Alice were here, I made a bit extra. Just some cut up fruit and cheese.

"So," Alice said, "I had an interesting conversation with Anthony at school today."

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. "Do I even wanna know?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Not really, but I'll tell you anyway." She straightened herself in her chair. "Um...he seems to think you'll come crawling back to him once you come to your senses and get rid of my brother."

"Whatever; he's delusional. He can't compel me like he's doing to all the other girls that fawn all over him. Nobody would want him if they knew what kind of person he really is." I popped a grape into my mouth and chewed a few seconds before speaking again. "Plus, there's no amount of money on this earth that could get me to go back to him. I'm marrying your brother; end of story."

"Let's just hope it's the end of the Anthony story. I highly doubt it, though," Edward said, picking up a few pieces of cheese and popping them into his mouth. "He doesn't seem like the type to just give up without causing a whole shit load of problems."

Me and Alice answered at the same time, "True."

For the next thirty minutes we chatted about mundane stuff. Alice kept bragging about how much of a great boyfriend Jasper was. I was happy she finally had someone to keep her occupied since I'll be married soon and a mom on top of that. But the cool thing about it was, she'd just be a few steps away if I needed her for anything.

I started putting the dishes in the dishwasher when Edward got my attention. "Hey, um...um..." He stuttered. He never does that. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure; here?" I walked over to him and stood between his legs.

I felt offended, at first, when he gently pushed me away. That was until he hopped off the stool and knelt down on one knee in front of me, pulling something out of his pocket. "What're you doing?"

I was completely taken by surprise when he smiled up at me. His smile was so big and I could see a glisten of tears in his eyes. "I know you already agreed to marry me, but I wanted to do this the right way and I asked Alice to come along because I knew she'd have a purple cow if she wasn't here for this and..."

I cut him off, "Edward, you're stalling."

"Oh, right. Um, yeah. Isabella Marie Swan, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife for eternity?" He opened a little black box that had a beautiful, simple diamond ring inside. It looked to be about one carat. I wasn't sure where he got the money for it and made a mental note to ask him later about it.

I couldn't help but start crying. My face lit up with a huge grin, so I got down on my knees in front of him. "You big goof, of course I will." I pulled him to me and kissed him like there was no tomorrow.

Alice cleared her throat. When I looked up at her, she was crying with her hand over her mouth. "That's the most romantic thing I've ever seen."

She rushed over and got on her knees, as well, and hugged the both of us. "Thank you, big brother, for letting me witness this. And you're right, I would've had a cow. Not so sure about a purple one, though, but definitely a cow."

We laughed and hugged each other tighter.

Everything was going to be okay.

I just knew it.

* * *

 **Okay...last one for tonight. I really do need to get started on getting my next story typed up.**

 **See you tomorrow.**

 **RTB**


	31. Chapter 31

**Something really weird happened today. I got an email this afternoon telling me that** Chapter 8: Ghostly Double 7 **was updated this afternoon at 1:32pm with** Words: 27556 - FOR ONE CHAPTER?

 **So, either someone hacked my account and is messing with my shit, or someone is stealing my story. I have no clue; It's just weird. I updated those chapters on 2/2 and 2/3. If anyone's had this issue before, please let me. It could just be as simple as a glitch.**

 **Sorry for the gap in updates. I've been typing up my next story. I guess you can call me old school because I like to hand write my stories then type them up.**

 **And it was my birthday yesterday and my oldest son took me to lunch then to the movies. YES, I know this is weird, but he took me to see Fifty Shades Freed. He had to embarrass me, of course. We were in the IMAX theater and he told me, loud enough so the six other people in the theater heard him, "I'll be right back; I have to go get my lotion and some tissues." He's 25, so I guess that's paybacks for all the times I embarrassed him as a kid. I still embarrass him as much as I can because we work for the same company and in the same department. I see another payback coming into play.**

 **Enough jibber jabber.**

 **No copy right infringement intended. SM owns all characters minus the ones I've added. I own all mistakes.**

 **2/13/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 31**

 **BPOV**

* * *

I was really nervous. I knew why, but I still couldn't get it out of my system. Edward and I were about to leave school to go to my first doctor's appointment. I told him he needed to drive because I couldn't concentrate clear enough.

There were so many different possibilities that we could be told. Like for instance, I'm not actually pregnant and there was a parasite growing inside of me and they needed to surgically remove it because it was starting to imbed itself to one of my vital organs. But worst of all, we could be told we're having not one, but two or three. Hell, even four babies.

I'd definitely fall into a catatonic state permanently and put into an insane asylum.

It was freaking me out. I didn't need to think that way and I wasn't about to say anything to my mom or Edward. They'd probably laugh at me instead of with me. I was being ridiculous. There was no need for it, but then again, I've never been pregnant before and considering my luck with life so far, I'd get every last pregnancy symptom known to medical science.

"Bella, you're mumbling," Edward said as we were about to pull into the parking lot of my doctor's office.

I jerked my head toward him, "What?!"

"I said, you're mumbling," he told me, glancing at me before he turned the left turn signal on.

"I didn't realize." I started digging at my cuticles to try and keep my mouth closed.

I heard the truck door slam shut and a moment later, my door was being wrenched open, my seatbelt being hastily undone, and my legs being grabbed to turn my body toward Edward. "What the hell is wrong with you? You're mumbling then fidgeting then mumbling, again."

I looked at him like he was stupid. "I am not."

"Yes, you are." He said his words with a whine. "What's going on in that head of yours?" He pushed his way between my legs and placed his hands on my hips.

I gave in. "It's just..." I went on and on, explaining what I was feeling and what I was afraid we'd be told, but he didn't laugh.

Not once.

"First of all, there's a baby growing inside of you, not a parasite. Secondly, aren't women supposed to have weird dreams and crave unhealthy stuff while they're pregnant?" He placed a hand on my cheek, "Everything will be fine; you'll see."

I made a pouty face at him. "Just tell me you love me so we can get this over with."

That was our thing. Our defeat was always "Tell me you love me".

"I love you; let's get this over with." Then he kissed me, grabbed my hand and helped me out of the truck.

It felt like it took us a lifetime to take the elevator up to the third floor and when we walked in, there were more people than I expected waiting to be seen.

There was a screaming baby that made me cringe inside.

That was going to be me in about seven months, and once again, I was thinking I couldn't do it.

I took a deep breath as I approached the counter to sign in.

Once I put my name on the check-in paper, I grabbed Edward's hand and lead him to a couple of seats in the corner, away from everyone as much as possible.

"Bella, you're fidgeting," Edward said, taking my hand back into his as we sat down. He laced our fingers together before kissing the back of my hand.

That calmed me, somewhat. Being around him usually put me at ease. "I'm sorry; I can't help it. This isn't like my appointment the last time I was here."

"Yeah, I'd say not." He kissed my hand, again. "You'll be fine."

My knee started bouncing and my free hand went to my mouth so I could chew on my thumbnail. "Bella, you need to stop." He reached up an moved my hand away from my mouth. "She's gonna tell us that everything's just fine. You have to stop worrying so much."

"Isabella Swan." A lady with a file in her hand, waited for me to get up and go to her so she could put my worries at ease.

Edward stood and held his hand out to me. I took it, allowing him to pull me up.

I kept a tight grip on him as we made our way toward the nurse. We followed her to where she stopped and asked me to step on a scale. "One pound since your last visit," she said.

I raised my brow surprised because I felt like I was at least ten pounds heavier. All I had been doing was eating, then throwing up, eating more, but not much and expelling it the next morning. I hoped it didn't last much longer.

After I slipped my flip flops back on, she had me pee in a cup then she led us into a room where she told me to get completely undressed. I felt a little uncomfortable with Edward watching me, but I knew I needed to push it away because we were going to be married in five days. Not only that, he'd already seen me naked more times than I could count. Only this time, he wouldn't be the one touching me.

As soon as the nurse walked out of the room, Edward was at my side and slipping his hand up my paper dress. "I can't wait to get you home."

I let him touch me for a few seconds before I stilled his hand. "As much as I want to take advantage of your fingers right now, unfortunately you need to stop. The doctor could walk in any second."

He dipped his head down and sucked some of my skin into his mouth from my neck. I felt the tug of his mouth for a couple of good sucks before he released me.

I knew there was a mark, but I was done making such a big deal about him giving me hickey's. "We definitely need to get home as soon as we leave here."

"I knew you'd agree with me," he said, so sure of himself.

A moment later, there was a tap on the door and it slowly opened with a head popping around the edge, "Bella? I just saw you a few months ago."

I smiled at Dr. Jensen. "Yeah, well, I'm here for a whole different reason this time."

"I see that," she said, opening my file to read what the nurse had scribbled inside. "Did she have you do a urine test?"

I nodded, "Yes, but she didn't say anything."

"She forgot to write that down. Give me a minute so I can go get those results." Dr. Jensen left the room for a few minutes before coming back in. "Well, you're definitely pregnant. We're still going to do blood work and make sure everything still looks good."

I nodded, letting her know I heard what she said. "How long does it take for the results to come in?"

Dr. Jensen walked over to me after she put my file down on the counter. "About two or three days." She patted my knee. "Lay back for me so I can check you out."

I did as she asked, raising my arms to stuff them under my head.

She poked around my breasts then around my stomach before she had me lift my feet into the stirrups. She did an exam on me, taking a swab of the inside of my vagina. Much like the last exam she did on me when I came in to get on birth control.

When she was done, she had me sit up, "I'm having the ultrasound machine rolled in here to do a trans-vaginal. That'll give me a better idea of how far along you are and check out your Fallopian tubes and make sure your uterus looks good."

Dr. Jensen left the room, leaving me and Edward in silence. It took him about five seconds before he opened his mouth. "That was weird."

"What was?" I was adjusting the paper blanket over my waist.

"Her sticking her fingers inside you," he explained, giving me a small mile. "It was just weird."

"Get used to it. Especially if you'll be coming to my appointments with me," I said, patting his cheek before pulling his face to mine so I could give him a small peck on his lips.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door before a different lady come rolling through the room with a machine. "Ready to see the munchkin?"

Edward and I smiled at each other as I was, once again, told to lay back and put my feet up in the stirrups.

I was confused at first because when Dr. Jensen said ultrasound, I thought those were done on the stomach. I wasn't entirely wrong; it was just an alternative way to see what was going on up in the nether regions. It never occurred to me when she said trans-vaginal.

I was caught off guard the moment she stuck that wand up...there. "Sorry. I know it's a little cold."

"That's fine. It just took me by surprise," I replied, looking up at the screen where I could see gray and white stuff moving around.

"There she is," the technician said. "Her little head and you can see her arms with her little hands. Awe... and look at those tiny feet."

"It's a girl?" Edward asked. "I didn't know you could tell so soon."

"Sorry; I always call the babies I see, girls; It's a habit. We won't be able to tell the gender until anywhere from 15 weeks and above, but here, we don't do that ultrasound until about 20 weeks."

My eyes were glued to the screen, much like Edwards. "Can you tell how many weeks I am?"

"You're measuring about nine to ten weeks. Dr. Jensen can tell you more once she looks over the video." She pulled the wand away from me, putting it back on the stand once she was done taking the measurements she needed. "She'll be back in here in a few minutes." Then she patted my leg and left the room.

Edward placed a kiss on my temple. "She was so tiny."

"She?"

He gave me a wide smile. "Yes. I think she's on to something."

"I think so, too," I said, agreeing with him. "We still have a little way to go before we find out, though."

A knock on the door sounded, "All righty. Let's look over this real quick. I viewed a little bit of it on my computer in my office. Everything looks good." She pushed a few buttons on the machine in front of her and pulled up the ultrasound that the tech just finished.

She moved the mouse cursor around the screen and read all the notations that the tech had made. She finally smiled and looked over at us. "Everything looks excellent. You're just starting into your tenth week and it looks like..." She pulled up a wheel and did some turning on it. "...you got pregnant around Thanksgiving."

I knew that had to be the conception time considering Esme doing the fertility spell that was supposed to help my mom get pregnant, but helped me instead.

From what my mom told me, she was about a month ahead of me.

I'd probably never get used to having a baby brother or sister that's only a month older than my own child.

Dr. Jensen printed out some pictures for us, making my stressful start of the day turn into something so much better.

I was dressed and out the door. I was ready to get out of there and home with my man. My co-pay was paid and we were finally on our way home.

We were heading back to our future home together.

I wanted to see how much Edward had done and make sure he was leaving some room for my stuff.

We were through the door and stripping our clothes off before the door was even closed.

He picked me up, wrapping my legs around him, taking us into the bedroom.

I slipped down his body and bent over the bed so he could take me from behind.

My eyes rolled to the back of my head from the feeling as Edward groaned and swiveled his hips before he started thrusting into me.

Suddenly, he snaked an arm around my waist, lifting me off of the floor. His thrusts became harder, pushing me faster and faster toward my release.

"That's it, baby!" He set my feet back on the floor and eased a hand up my back before he wrapped my hair around his fingers to give it a light pull. His other hand was gripping my hip as he continued his very welcomed assault on my body.

"I can't wait until you're here every night."

I plopped my upper body down on the most amazing, soft bed. "I can't move."

Edward was next to me a moment later. "I told you this bed was amazing."

"Who said it was the bed keeping me from moving?" I glanced up over my arm at him to catch him smirking. "Suck it all up as much as you can, buster. I hear once the baby gets here, there won't be much time for us to do anything."

He sat up just a little too fast, "I don't..." His words were cut off when he went tumbling off the edge of the bed.

I sat up, looking down at him. "You don't, what?" I asked as I giggled.

He smiled up at me.

After looking at each other for a few seconds, we couldn't help but break out into peals of laughter. I hadn't laughed that hard in what felt like ages.

Later that night, I was showing my mom the ultrasound pictures. She was getting excited to see her own. If she was correct, then she'd be about fourteen or fifteen weeks.

"I remember my first ultrasound when I was pregnant with you. It was the most amazing thing. Your tiny little hands were clutched up close to your face and you could see your feet." Mom was gushing over the gray scale photo of her unborn grandchild. "I bet you'll have a girl."

I chuckled at her. "That's what me and Edward think, too."

"Well, hopefully they can tell you on your next visit." She looked a little closer at the picture. "Yeah, I'd say you're having a girl."

"Mom, you can't even tell." I took the picture from her and looked a little closer. "I can't see it.".

She shrugged her shoulders, "Call it a mother's intuition."

"Well, what's your intuition say about how things are gonna go this weekend?" I adjusted myself so I could tuck my foot underneath me.

She gave me an indifferent smile. "I'm sure things will go just fine." She placed her hand on my knee. "I'm still trying to get used to all this. I have my days where I'm okay with it and then there's days like today where I want to tell you not to get married and stay at home with me and we can raise our babies together, but I know you'll be okay. I know that this is something you want and you're not being forced into it."

"Mom, I know this isn't something a mother wishes for her child. I've tried to put myself in your shoes and I can't, but I can imagine how you're feeling. I wouldn't want this for my kid. I guess no parent does and I couldn't be more grateful for the way you and dad have accepted all of this."

"We're still working on it. It'll take a little more time." She stood from the couch and handed me the other ultrasound picture she was holding. "Did you eat today?"

"Yeah. I had a sandwich with Edward before I came home." I got up and tucked the pictures into my back pocket. "I'm just gonna shower and head to bed." I reached over and wrapped my arms around her in a tight hug. "I love you, mom."

"I love you, too, baby girl."

I made my way upstairs and took a long shower before climbing into bed and sending Edward a text before drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, Edward showed up about ten minutes before we had to leave for school. I made us a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs and cheese on an English muffin. I wrapped them in a paper towel before we headed out for school.

School was okay. Not too much going on. Anthony gave me sideways glances every time he passed me in the hall. The girls that hung all over him hadn't said too much to me or even looked my way. I hoped he was giving up, but I knew that was just wishful thinking.

Before we knew it, Friday had approached and we were finishing up the tent and tables for our small wedding as soon as we got home from school. There wasn't too many invited. Just our immediate family and a couple of our friends. Jasper was Edwards best man and Alice was my Maid of Honor. There weren't any more than we needed in the wedding party.

I don't know why they call it pre-wedding jitters, but it sucked. We've bought rings and my dress, but it still felt like it was a million days away before we finally take that step.

"Babe, you look like you're about to hurl," Edward said, as we made our way down the hall at school. We just got done having lunch and my stomach was doing summersaults.

I clutched my hand to my stomach, "Yeah, I'm nauseous."

"You shouldn't have eaten so fast," he admonished me as we made our way to my locker.

I looked at him like he had two heads, "I did not eat too fast. You're one to talk when it comes to porking out. You act like someone's gonna steal your food."

He chuckled, "Yeah, you," he said, poking me in the ribs.

I made a pouty face at him, "Are you calling me fat?"

"No," he pulled my head closer to him with the arm that was draped over my shoulders and kissed the top of my head. "Not at all."

I wasn't paying attention until Edward stopped all of a sudden, making me look up. Anthony was leaning up against my locker like he was waiting for me, but had Tanya Denali all over him like he was the last man on earth.

We stood watching him for a minute before I had enough. "Can you please take your fornication somewhere else? I need to get in my locker."

"Awe...don't be like that, Isabella." Anthony moved away from the locker so he could stand in front of me. "No need to be a bitch."

We barely heard one word out of him all week and I'm not sure what changed, but he was at it again.

I raised my brow at him. "Stop being such a dick."

Tanya decided she wanted to put her two cents in. "You're not allowed to be jealous because I'm with him."

"Bitch, please! Who the hell says I'm jealous? I just want the piece of shit away from my locker and while he's at it, he can take you with him." I gave them both my bitch brow.

"Anthony's right. You really are a piece of work. No wonder he broke up with you," Tanya said as she reached down and laced her fingers with Anthony's.

"Give me a fucking break. You have no room to judge when you don't know the real story," I said, rolling my eyes at their absurdness.

Tanya made some weird jerking motion with her head like she was about to have a seizure. "Well, Anthony doesn't lie to me, so..." She trailed off, not really knowing what to say.

I laughed. Not just a little chuckle at the stupidness coming from her mouth, but a loud - That's the funniest shit I've ever heard - kind of laugh. "Yeah, Anthony always tells the truth," I said sarcastically. "Now, will you please just get the fuck out of my way? You're wasting my time."

It was Anthony's turn to raise his brows at me. "Let's not get on the subject of wasting each other's time." Then he looked up at Edward. "Not gonna fight your girl's battles?"

"My girl, as you say, can fight her own battles. Lay a hand on my girl, then we might have an issue." Then Edward smiled a huge toothy grin and perked up. "Oh, hey, did you hear the great news? Me and Bella are getting married tomorrow."

I noticed Anthony stiffen

Tanya rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever; My mom told me. She also told me that you were assholes and got her in trouble that day."

"If your mom learned how to keep her opinions to herself, then she wouldn't have gotten herself into trouble," Edward said. "Now, please excuse us."

He grabbed my hand and we pushed our way around them to get to my locker. I got what I needed and headed toward my next class. I was beginning to think that I wanted to take that test and graduate this year with Edward. I wouldn't have to put up with their shit every day.

For the rest of the day, there was more taunting and nasty looks from Anthony and Tanya. It was getting so childish and definitely not worth my time.

That night, I drove home in a daze. Tomorrow was our big day.

Phil had messaged me earlier to let me know that everything was all set up and there wasn't anything to worry about.

Little did he or anyone else know, I was as nervous as a cat about to be put in a pool of water.

I stayed with Edward until the sun started going down because Alice ushered me out of the house. She didn't want us struck with bad luck because the groom was seeing the bride the night before their wedding. It was ridiculous if you asked me. She said she wasn't superstitious, but she didn't want to chance anything.

My nervousness had edged away when I was at Edwards. His parents engaged us with past experiences of having a newborn baby. I didn't want to hear the horror stories, but I took it all in stride and listened.

When I pulled into my driveway, I sat there for a minute to gather my thoughts. I was starting to get really nervous, again, even though my mom and Alice had ensured me, countless times, that everything was going to work out perfectly.

As soon as I stepped out of my car and closed my door, my entire world came to a screeching halt when I was grabbed from behind, a gloved hand over my mouth and a voice in my ear. "We need to talk."

I shook my head vigorously. "NO!" I screamed into his hand. "NO!"

It was muffled and I was sure no one could hear me. "You're little bewitched ring isn't worth wearing anymore."

Next thing that happened, scared the life out of me. Somehow, he managed to lift me without removing his hand from my mouth and started running. I had no clue where he was taking me and I was starting to feel like I was going to hurl all over him.

He ran for what felt like a lifetime, but it was probably only three to five minutes. When he finally came to a stop, he put me on my feet and pulled my back to his chest. "Don't scream. I just wanna talk. Please?"

I couldn't figure out what his issue was, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt and lightly nodded my head.

When he released me, I jumped back from him, clutching my stomach that was churning. I had to take a few deep breaths to keep from losing my dinner all over the pavement in front of me. I was bent over with one hand on my knee, "What the fuck do you want?"

He chuckled. "I never thought that leaving you without a word would force you to end up here."

"Why do you even care? You're the one that freakin' left. You didn't say good-bye, fuck off, kiss my ass or anything at all. It's none of your damn business anymore where I live." I wasn't done, by any means, giving him a piece of my mind. "You killed Lauren, didn't you? And that's why you left."

He pursed his lips, "That bitch deserved it," he finally said through gritted teeth. "I don't know why she wouldn't leave shit alone. I don't know what the hell was wrong with her, but I couldn't compel her. When I ended things with her was when I fell in love with you."

"You're such a fucking liar," I screamed at him. "You never loved me. You're incapable of love."

He shook his head. "That's not true. You and me were meant to be together. I thought if I left and came back once you graduated, we could move and live away from everyone and prying eyes."

"Anthony," I shook my head back at him. "Do you hear yourself?" I looked around to see where we were.

We were in the same parking lot that Edward and I came to a while ago after we first got together. I was looking for ways to get away from him. "Isabella, you don't understand. You can't marry him and you can't have that thing growing inside of you." He started to step toward me, but I stepped back.

"You give me one damn good reason why. I'm marrying Edward and we're having a baby. There's nothing you can do to stop me."

All of a sudden, he was in front of me, gripping my arms just a little too tightly. "You. Can. Not. Have. This. Thing! It'll ruin everything. You don't understand. This was supposed to end over a century ago."

"Let. Me. GO!"

Out of the darkness, I heard a growl and knew that Jacob was finally here to save me.

Anthony jumped back, putting his hands up to, hopefully, ward Jacob away. "Keep your fucking mutt away from me."

I moved to where Jacob was standing in his wolf form. He was taller than I was on all four feet, but then again, I wasn't that tall anyway. "If I remember correctly, isn't a wolf bite deadly to vampires?"

"Keep him the fuck away from me. I swear to God, Isabella, if he so much as loses a hair next to me, you'll never see the end of me."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Whatever. I guess that answers my question, so just say what you have to say so I can get home. I was supposed to call Edward as soon as I stepped foot in my front door. If I don't call him soon, he'll know something isn't right."

"Just..." he trailed off, looking up to the dark, starry sky. "You can't have this... baby. You've already started the cycle by having sex with one of them."

"What the hell are you talking about? You're not making any sense at all." Jake nudged the back of my arm, so I reached up to scratch behind his ear.

"I know all about his family a little too well, considering he's my distant cousin from the past. That part is true, but you can't..." He was stuck. He couldn't finish his sentence. It was like he was afraid to finish and tell me the whole story.

I put my hand up. "Look, I need to get home. If you can't tell me what your freakin' deal is right now, then I have to go."

"I don't know if I can tell you, but know that I'm sorry. I really do love you and you need to be with me. You need to get an abortion. You can't have that thing."

Jake stepped forward like he was going to attack Anthony, but I put my hand up to stop him. "I don't give a damn what you say. Edward is who I'm supposed to be with." I took two steps toward him. "Don't you get it? I don't love you anymore; I've moved on. I'm in love with someone else that I'm meant to be with. And even if I cared, it's obvious that you don't or you wouldn't let your little groupies say shit to me."

"Bella, please?" He put his hand on his forehead. "I can't let anyone know how I truly feel." He took a deep breath that he didn't need. "You can't let this continue. It was supposed to end years ago."

"What the fuck ever." I turned and started walking away. "You come get me, with my permission next time, when you can tell me the real story."

Jake lowered himself and let me climb on like he was a horse. He had me back to the house in no time.

When we walked up, Edward was parked in my driveway with his phone up to his ear. He must have just arrived because you could hear my phone ringing from where it was laying underneath the edge of my car. As we walked up, he was bending down to pick up my phone.

At my touch to his shoulder, he jerked around ready to throw a punch at the first person that approached him, but instead, he snatched me up in a death grip, "Where the hell have you been?"

"You don't want to know," I said, sliding down his body once he loosened his grip.

"Yes, I do want to know. I was scared out of my wits. When you didn't answer the third time I called, I came over here. I didn't know what to think when I pulled up and saw your bag laying on the ground." He placed his hand on my cheek. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I replied. "It was Anthony."

Edward stepped back, "What he fuck?!"

Jake had disappeared behind my car for a minute and walked around, in human form only wearing a pair of short. "Dude, chill. He backed off as soon as I got there. He seemed a little scared."

I let out a little laugh. "Yeah, but that won't make him back off."

"What the hell did he want?" Edward pulled me into his arms, gave me a small hug before stepping back like he remembered something. Then he put his hand on my stomach. "Is the baby okay?"

I smiled up at him and placed my hand over his. "Yes. We're both fine."

He placed a kiss on my forehead. "Thank God. I wouldn't know what to do if something happened to you."

I placed my hand on his cheek. "I love you. I'm not going anywhere. I have so many people protecting me." I pulled him down and pressed a kiss to his lips. "But, we haven't seen the last of Anthony. He knows something that he's having a hard time to tell me. It's like it's killing him to try and say it."

Jake was standing back watching us, so I turned to speak to him. "Thank you, Jake. I don't know what would have happened if you didn't get there when you did."

"That's why I'm here. I'm not going home until we know that he's gone for good." He walked up to me with open arms. "Come on, give me some love, so I can get back out there to patrol some more before I head back to the house. I can't do that until you step foot inside your door."

"Fine," I said, walking into his open arms. "I'll see you tomorrow."

After Jake walked off so he could finish his patrolling, I turned back to Edward. He reached out and pulled me to him by my waist. "You're not allowed to go anywhere by yourself anymore. What if he gets you, again? He might not let you go."

"I don't think it'll get that far," I said. "There's something seriously going on with him. I think what he does to us is just show because he said he couldn't let anyone know how he really felt about me."

Edward made a disgusted sound and stepped back from me. "You can't be serious, right now?"

I looked at him incredulously, crossing my arms over my chest. "Yes, I am serious. What if what he knows is something imperative that could change everything? He keeps telling me I can't have the baby like it's dangerous for me and something about his past."

"So, what you're telling me is, maybe we should give him the benefit of the doubt and listen to what he has to say?" He shook his head. "Not gonna happen, Bella. I don't care how much begging or pleading he does to you, you shouldn't believe a word out of his mouth because I sure as hell don't."

Edward turned away from me and took a few steps. His hands came up to his face before he roughly dug them into his hair. "Bella, don't you understand what he's trying to do to you? You can't do this. You can't let him get to you like this."

He sounded so distressed and I knew I was the cause of it. "Edward," I said, stepping closer, wrapping my arms around him from behind. "I'm not letting him get to me; I promise. I just think he knows something that we should be privy to."

He reached down and unclasped my hands so he could turn and face me. His hands found purchase on my face. "You have to be really careful. I can't be with you all the time. Just please, whatever you do, please don't go anywhere alone anymore. Not until we know for sure what this dickhead is up to."

I wrapped my arms around him, again. "I will," I mumbled into his chest. "I promise, I'll keep an eye out, and I won't leave without someone with me."

"Good,' he said, pulling back so he could lean down and press his lips to mine.

"Good," I said when we pulled apart. "Now tell me you love me so you can get home. We have big plans tomorrow."

He chuckled at me. "I do love you, Mrs. Cullen."

"Not 'til tomorrow," I sing-songed.

* * *

 **The big day is coming up next chapter.**

 **Leave me some love.**

 **RTB**


	32. Chapter 32

**Happy Valentine's Day to everyone.**

 **I have a guilty pleasure to share with you; I love The Wahlburgers.**

 **If you've never seen it, and like Mark Wahlberg or even Donnie, you have to see it. I LOVE THEM! I have put going to Wahlburgers on my bucket list and to eat at Alma Nove...that's their mom's restaurant. They're hilarious!**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns most of the characters and I own all mistakes.**

 **2/14/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 32**

 **BPOV**

* * *

I didn't want to get up for anything. Not even for my very own wedding. This baby was draining the life out of me.

My mom had already been in to wake me up. She had made an appointment at the salon to get pampered today. The wedding didn't start until six, so we had plenty of time to get buffed and polished.

Alice was meeting us, along with Esme to get the same treatment. I really hoped it was all worth it because I had never had a pedicure or manicure. Mom and Alice told me that I'd been missing out and being pampered one time would get me hooked.

I wasn't so sure about that.

Alice sat next to me when we were seated. Mom and Esme were further down and hopefully couldn't hear us talking.

We had been talking about her and Jasper when the topic of sex came up. "I know now why you can't keep your hands off my brother. I feel the same way about Jasper. It's like I can't get enough of him. Especially after the first time we made love."

I raised my brows at her. "So you're saying you're addicted?"

Her smile grew a mile wide. "Bella, I can't explain it." Then she dropped her head. "He knows about me."

"Knows about what?" I had my head back against my seat with my eyes closed.

"You know..."

That got my attention so I raised my head to look at her. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Yes," she admitted. "Something happened and I didn't know of any other way to explain it to him without telling him everything. He took it better than I thought."

"So, what exactly happened?" She had my curiosity peaked.

She gave me an embarrassed look. "Our third time together, stuff started floating in the air and all the electronics in his bedroom turned themselves on."

I gave her a weird look. "Did you two float?"

"No, silly, but the bed started shaking the more we got into it. After that, there wasn't a way to tell him without giving him all the details."

I wondered if she heard humming like me and Edward do just about every time we have sex. We've learned how to ignore it, plus, it's not quite as loud as it was when we first started having sex. "This is a personal question and you don't have to answer, but do you hear any humming when you two...?"

I had to cut the question off because her face more or less answered my question, but I still wanted to know. "I have no clue what it is."

"Your mom knows that it happens with me and Edward," I said, laying my head back, once again.

"Are you kidding me?"

"No. She's been doing some reading to see if there's anything that causes it. She can't figure it out because she said it never happened when her and Carlisle first got together."

"My mom tells you about her sex life?"

"No, dumbass. She was just telling me that it had never happened with her; that's it."

Alice let out a deep breath. "That would have been a major TMI moment for me."

"I think it has something to do with you being a witch. While you're doing it, you're releasing so much energy into the room."

She looked over at me. "But how is it happening with my brother when he didn't inherit the gene? I'm the witch because my mom is. My dad doesn't have any kind of Wiccan in him."

"I don't know. Like I said, your mom's been researching as much as she can. So far, she hasn't been able to find anything." The lady doing my feet, lifted them out of the water and started to dry them. She rubbed some kind of lotion all over them then asked me to move over to her table so she could start with my nails. I was having my hair done too, but nothing too fancy. They'll be putting a few tiny flowers in my hair to make it look even prettier.

Our conversation had come to a halt when I had to go sit at the manicure table. Alice was just finishing up and headed to the table where she'd be sitting. We'd have this conversation another day.

When we were all done, we headed to a small cafe to have a late lunch. As soon as I stepped out of the salon, I spotted Anthony across the street. He wasn't trying to hide as he watched us make our way to the car.

I didn't say anything because I didn't want my special day ruined. Hopefully he didn't do something to try and sabotage my wedding.

By the time we were done, it was close to four in the afternoon. We ordered two of their biggest sandwiches and had them cut in half so we could share. We didn't want to eat too much because there was going to be food at the small reception we were having. Tables were already set up off to the side of the same tent we were getting married in.

I was already dressed an hour before the ceremony, and I wanted to take a quick walk by the tent just to peek in.

As I rounded the corner, my heart stopped when I saw Anthony standing near the entrance with his hands in his pockets. "Why the hell are you here?"

"I wanted to give it one more shot at asking you not to marry him or have your..." He took a hand from his pocket and waved it toward my stomach.

"Baby? Yes, Anthony, it's a baby. And no, there isn't anything you could say that would get me to change my mind." I heard some talking and looked around the corner to see a few people walking by looking at the tent. "You need to go unless you're ready to tell me whatever it is you're afraid to tell me."

He gave me a sad smile. "I can't. At least not right now."

"You need to go, then. I'm getting married today and I won't let you ruin it for me." I turned to walk away, but turned back. "Can you please keep your groupies away from me?"

He gave me a small nod of his head. "I'll see what I can do." Then he turned and walked away.

Sometimes I wondered why the sun never fried him like it did in all the vampire movies I've seen. Even though I knew it was the power of witches. Vampires were more than able to walk in the sun as long as they wore a daylight amulet. Otherwise, they'd go up in smoke. I never questioned Anthony about the whole sun thing, but Esme had told me all about it. Now I knew it was the bracelet he always wore; it had to be. He never took it off. I felt about two feet tall after she explained it to me because it should've been one of the questions I asked him when I first found out about him and his family.

I made my way back into the house hoping to find my mom. I wanted to tell her about Anthony being outside, but something told me I needed to leave it alone. He didn't do or say anything that should have us on alert. I couldn't blame the guy for trying.

My mom was slipping her dress over her head when I walked into her room. It was pretty and simple; much like mine. We were also going barefoot like we did at her and Phil's wedding. When I said simple, I meant as simple as simple could get.

"You ready?" She asked as I plopped my ass down on her bed. I watched as she smoothed her dress over her hips and I could see the small baby bump protruding just under the skirt line.

Pregnancy was looking good on her. I only hoped it looked as good on me. Her appointment went well and she was right at sixteen weeks pregnant. We were all just as surprised she was that far along. She didn't say too much about the appointment. Just that it went good and everything looked just as well.

I guess with all the hype of Anthony being around and then me getting pregnant, took her mind off of her own pregnancy. Plus, she wanted to make sure she was into her second trimester before she said anything to anyone. It was completely understandable.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," I replied, placing my hand on my stomach, wondering if I had a small bump.

She turned to look at me, "It's not there yet," she said. "You probably won't notice it until everyone else does."

I smiled up at her. "It looks good on you, mom." I reached out to put my hand on her stomach. "Are you supposed to be showing this much already?"

"Yeah," she said. "I'm three and a half months pregnant. I guess it's normal."

I gave her a confused look. "You've been pregnant before, mom. Shouldn't you know this?"

"All pregnancies are different. I didn't start showing with you until I was almost six months."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess you're right." Then I stood from her bed. "It's about that time."

She pulled me to her and wrapped her arms around me. "By this time tomorrow, you'll be an old married woman."

I chuckled at her. "I wouldn't say old. I'm only seventeen, mom."

"I'd rather think of you as older, right now. It's not so hard to let you go when I think that way." She pulled from our embrace and held me at arm's length. "You can always come home if you feel like you have to."

"I know and I appreciate that, but I think me and Edward will do just fine." I wrapped my arms around her, again. "I love you."

"I love you, too. More than life itself." She kissed my cheek as she pulled away. "Now," she took my hand in hers. "Let's go get you married."

When we made our way downstairs, I noticed all the cars outside as I looked out the window by the front door. There were about ten cars and my stomach did a little flip.

My dad popped his head around the corner from the kitchen when he heard us approach the back door. "Is it that time?"

I gave him a small, sad smile because I knew this was the last thing he wanted to do, right now. He probably preferred sitting at home watching a sports show, but instead, he was walking his only daughter down the aisle to be married at the age of seventeen. It was going to happen sooner or later and I was positive, he wished for the later.

I wrapped my arms around him. "I'm still your baby girl." I felt the tears begin to spill from my eyes. "And I won't be too far away."

"I know," he said, kissing the top of my head. "You'll always be my baby girl; no matter what happens."

"I love you, daddy." I squeezed him tighter. "I love you more than anything."

"I love you, too, kiddo. Never forget that. There's nothing I wouldn't do to protect you." He kissed my head, again. "And you'll have a husband to help me protect you, if needed."

I released my hold on him. "You're the best dad a girl could ask for."

"I do what I can." I held his arm out for me to take and I gladly took it as we made our way to the back door.

We walked around the pool and out to the beach where the tent was set up. I could hear chitter chatter as we approached.

A moment later, I heard the wedding march begin as we took our spot at the back of the tent. It was our queue to take that walk down the strip of carpet that led me to my future husband.

Everyone was all smiles as we took step after step to the front.

Edwards eyes were glistening with tears as we took our stance in front of him.

The minister took a step forward. "Who gives this woman to be wed?"

"Her mother and I do," Charlie said.

My dad placed my hand into Edwards and with some reluctance, he released it and took his seat next to my mom.

I gave a quick glance around noticing Alice's huge smile and Jasper's was just as big. Esme and Carlisle were smiling as well. I didn't have time to name everyone, but there wasn't a grimace on any of their faces.

"Friends and family of Edward and Isabella, welcome and thank you for being here on this important day. We're gathered together to celebrate the very special love between these two, by joining them in marriage.

Edward and Isabella, your marriage today is the public and legal joining of your souls that have already been united as one in your hearts. Marriage will allow you a new environment to share your lives together, standing together to face life and the world, hand-in-hand. Marriage is going to expand you as individuals, define you as a couple, and deepen your love for one another.

To be successful, you will need strength, courage, patience and a really good sense of humor. So, let your marriage be a time of waking each morning and falling in love with each other all over again."

The minister stepped back and opened his book that he held. "God has granted these two half souls to be put back together as one."

I could feel the tears start to gather at the corner of my eyes when Edward looked down at me. He had a smile that could be seen for miles.

"Edward, repeat after me." Edward's hand gripped mine tighter.

"I, Edward Anthony Cullen, take you Isabella Marie Swan to be my lawfully wedded wife."

He repeated and smiled, a tear slipping down his beautiful face.

We repeated all the minister asked us to then it was time for us to say our own vows.

I went first, knowing I couldn't get through it without ending my words like a blubbering idiot. "When I first met you, I hated you." All the guests laughed because most of them were there when I punched him. "But you still wanted to get to know me."

And the first tear streamed down my face. "I'll never forget that first time you kissed me. I knew I loved you then, but I was still working on a few things in my heart. It didn't take long, though, for you to completely capture it. It's yours completely and forever. I love you, Edward and look forward to spending my life with you."

I was sure black streaks were running down my face, but I didn't care one bit.

"You're definitely a spitfire and left me with a black eye for a couple of weeks." He tugged me a little closer. "That punch made me fall in love with you. I don't know why, but it did. There wasn't anything I wasn't willing to try to get your attention."

I watched as he became choked up before speaking, again. "I wanted to be the one that could take your hand and walk with you. I wanted to be the one who could kiss you and savor every second of it. I wanted to be the one I could say I love you to every day and have the same feeling in return. My love for you goes deeper than the deepest ocean and expands larger than the whole galaxy above us. You'll never have to wonder if you're loved as long as I'm in your life. You'll never have to wake up and wonder if you're beautiful because I'll tell you every chance I get. I look forward to our life together so we can learn together; we'll do it all together from this night on."

I couldn't wait to kiss him. My face was completely wet from tears and I was positive there was snot leaking from my nose until the minister pulled a couple of tissues from his pocket and handed one to me and the other to Edward. "They're clean; promise."

We chuckled as we wiped at our noses. "Could I get the rings please?"

Jasper stepped up and handed the rings to the minister. He then laid them on his bible and placed his hands over them. "These rings are a symbol of your love for one another. May God watch over you and bless you with much happiness."

He handed one ring to Edward. "Repeat after me."

Edward pushed my wedding band on until he reached my knuckle. "With this ring, I thee wed."

Edward repeated the words and pushed my ring the rest of the way on my finger.

Then I was handed Edwards ring and I did the same. "With this ring, I thee wed."

We clasped each other's hands and waited. "By the power vested in me of the state of Florida, I now pronounce Edward and Isabella as husband and wife." There was a pause for a few second before he finally said what we were waiting for. "You may now kiss your bride."

With the twenty or so people that filled the tent, the applause was deafening.

Our kiss was short and sweet for the moment, but the second we walk into our home, there wouldn't be anyone there to see us kiss the way we really wanted to kiss.

When we stepped off the makeshift stage, we were bombarded by arms pulling us into hugs and kisses to the cheeks.

My mom and Esme were just as snotty as I was. That was until I turned and looked at Alice. She was worse than any of us.

She flung her arms around me and cried into my shoulder. "Don't worry; these are happy tears."

"I hope so," I conveyed. "I love you, Ali. You're the bestest friend a girl could ask for."

"I love you, too, sister." She giggled and pulled away from me. "I finally have a sister."

"You sure do," I said, patting her cheek. "I'm sure you remember that it doesn't give you the right to meddle."

She gave me a pouty look. "Fine."

All the tables were being moved apart and the chairs all the guest were sitting in were moved so the dance floor was cleared for some dancing.

There was a small buffet set up to one side and our wedding cake was at the end of table of food. It was only two tiers high, and it was almost too beautiful to eat.

"Can I have everyone's attention, please?" That was my mom.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned toward her. "There's a small buffet set up over there." She pointed to her left to the line of tables that were put together to hold all the food that we were about to consume. "After we eat, we'll do some dancing before Edward and Bella cut their cake, so eat up."

Mom stepped away from the small platform that we stood on when we were saying our vows.

Edward and I were the first ones in line to get our food after we were done signing the marriage license with Alice and Jasper signed as witnesses.

When I looked at the food, it was all mouthwatering and I took enough to feed a third world country.

We sat and ate as we chit-chatted. Edward and I were off in our own world as we sat watching everyone interact.

Alice was attached to Jasper and all our parents sat at the same table.

We ate and danced and ate some more. An hour and a half later, it was time for us to cut our cake. Carlisle had a camera so he could take pictures as we cut our first piece.

There was cake and icing up my nose and pressed between my lips. Edward didn't look much better. Smashing cake into each other's face was something I was looking forward to, believe it or not. It was a rite of passage.

We were saying our good-byes as we made our way to my car that was decorated with streamers and blown up condoms attached to the side mirrors and the back bumper.

I could tell by the handwriting that Alice was the one that wrote on my windows..."Just Married." Your typical proof of a new marriage.

Even though we'd already said 'I Do', I was still feeling a little nervous, but all in all I couldn't wait to get home and start my married life.

* * *

 **Our lovebirds are finally married.**

 **We'll see what happens on the next episode tomorrow night.**

 **RTB**


	33. Chapter 33

**Have I mentioned that I love The Wahlburgers? I love Mark, but Donnie is, by far, my favorite.**

 **Anywho, here's some Edward for you. Let's see what he's up to.**

 ******It's their honeymoon, so we've got more than one sexy time happening.******

 **AND there's a surprise at the end.**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns most of the characters and I own all the mistakes.**

 **2/15/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 33**

 **EPOV**

* * *

It all was so surreal. I was a married man, now. I took the plunge at the age of eighteen and statistics say marrying that young, never lasts.

We were going to prove those statistics wrong. I believe our love is strong enough to bring us through the toughest of times.

I couldn't wait to get my wife home and in our bed. We didn't have to sleep separately ever again.

As we danced and ate cake, I couldn't help the smile that graced my face every time I looked at my wife.

Calling her my wife sounded so weird, though. I guess it was going to take some time to get used to. We already acted like a married couple, but now it was all real. And to top it all off, we were going to be parents.

I had to pinch myself a couple of times just to make sure it was all happening.

As soon as we approached our door, I unlocked it before I picked her up, bridal style, then made our way over the threshold.

"You're so romantic," Bella said as I set her feet on the floor.

"I couldn't bring my new bride into our home without carrying her over the threshold; it's bad luck." I kicked my shoes off by the door as Bella did the same with hers.

Bella walked into the kitchen and pulled the water pitcher from the fridge. "Want some?"

"No," I replied. "I do need a shower, though. I can feel sand all over me." I started unbuttoning my shirt as I walked into the kitchen, stopping right in front of her. "Wanna join me?"

She looked up at me. "Do you even need to ask?"

"I suppose not," I replied, gripping her hips and pulling her into my erection. "I think someone's a little anxious to get this honeymoon started."

She wiggled her eyebrows at me. "Oh, I bet that your so-called someone can wait a few more minutes while I fondle my husband."

"That's music to my ears," I said, lowering my head to capture her lips with mine.

I reached down and hooked my hands around the back of her legs so I could lift her, and she wrapped her legs around me as I started for the bedroom.

She slid down my body as we entered our room.

There were rose pedals spread all over the place and little battery operated tea light candles lit all around the room.

I spotted chocolate covered strawberries on a tray next to a bottle of something, chilling in an ice bucket. Two champagne glasses sat next to the ice bucket.

I pulled the bottle from the ice and noticed it was sparkling cider. I figured it was Alice who set all this up.

When I found an envelope addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Cullen, I knew for sure it was my sister who threw all this together.

 _"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Cullen - I have taken it upon myself to make your room romantic for your wedding night. I wish you both a fun night and don't do anything I wouldn't do._

 _I love you,_

 _Alice_

"I don't even want to know what my sister wouldn't do," I said, handing the note to Bella.

She chuckled, "Yeah, I don't know too much myself because I asked her not to tell me unless she really needed to."

I put the bottle of cider back into the bucket so it could stay cold then reached for a strawberry. I held it up to Bella's mouth and watched as she took a bite.

Juice dribbled down her chin, so I took it upon myself to lean down and lick it off of her face then made my way to her mouth. I loved the taste of strawberries on her as we began kissing.

My tongue swept through her lips and found a rhythm caressing hers.

She pushed my open shirt over my shoulders and let it drop to the floor. I did the same with her dress; pushing it over her shoulders, allowing my fingers to trace over her swollen breasts.

They were so beautiful. I had seen my fair share of tits. Mostly in magazines, though. Bella's were, by far, my favorite.

Her nipples perked up, willing my fingers to touch them and I couldn't resist. They were perfectly rounded as I held them and smoothed my thumbs over her nipples. "I love your tits."

"That's the only reason you married me," she said, placing her hands over mine to pull them away.

She lead us into the bathroom where she unbuttoned my pants and pushed them over my hips, letting them fall in a heap around my ankles. "Eager?"

I stepped out of my pants and reached to push her panties down her legs. "Not so much eager; just anxious."

As soon as we were completely undressed, we stepped under the spray of the warm water. It felt good as it hit my back, relaxing me.

Bella grabbed the body wash and squirted some on the puff ball that she had brought over earlier in the week when she moved most of her stuff in. She still had some stuff at her parents' house, but it wasn't anything of importance.

She started washing over my chest and made her way over the whole front side of my body. When she was done, she started on my back. She paid extra attention to my ass as she rubbed the soap over my butt cheeks.

When she wrapped her arms around me and eased her hands down to my dick, she began to stroke me about five or six times before I couldn't take it anymore.

I turned and pushed her up against the shower wall. "You're such a tease."

"I'm not a tease if I plan on putting out," she responded.

My mouth found purchase on hers. I wanted her so bad that my hands were on autopilot as they made their way down the front of her body and between her legs. She was nice and wet from the water coating her body. "I want you, right now."

She raised a leg and reached down to grasp my erection. She moved it over her clit a few times before she eased it toward her opening.

I wrapped my hand around her other leg and lifted. She responded by wrapping her legs around me. I just had to push forward and I'd be buried inside of her.

Our lips connected, again as I moved my hips, feeling her steaming hot heat envelope me.

I couldn't move for a minute or our tryst would be done and over with.

I took that opportunity to slip my fingers between her ass cheeks to lightly rub over her puckered hole. She hummed her disapproval, but that didn't stop me from rubbing small circles over her forbidden area. I have a feeling she'll, eventually, let me go further.

As I started thrusting into her, I couldn't keep my mouth on hers, so I paid attention to her facial expressions the more I moved. It was beautiful seeing how I could make her feel. "That feel good, baby?"

Her nails dug into my back the harder I pushed into her. "Yes. God yes."

When our shower was over, we wrapped towels around each other and headed toward the kitchen. The strawberries weren't enough for my pregnant wife. She wanted a sandwich, so I made her one.

We made our way back into the room and made a small pic-nick on the bed where we shared the sandwich and fed each other the strawberries.

Our wedding night turned out to be one of the best ever. We made love all night, talked and told jokes. The TV stayed off so we could keep our attention on each other. We wanted this uninterrupted time to last forever, but we knew that real life existed outside the four walls that housed us.

I woke the next morning to my wife moving her mouth over my morning wood. "I love waking up like this."

She pulled her mouth away with a pop. "I bet you do." Then went back to business at hand.

"I'm gonna cum," I warned, "Move, baby, unless you wanna swallow."

She kept going, jacking me with one hand as the other played with my balls. Her mouth was relentless and the suction she had on me, brought me to my release.

A growl erupted from my throat as I came in her mouth. She kept sucking, pulling every drop from me.

I sank down into the bed when she pulled her mouth away and climbed up my body. "Good morning."

"A good morning, indeed," I said in agreement.

She straddled my hips with her bare pussy perched over me.

It wouldn't stay limp for long. My mind was already drifting back into the gutter, knowing damn good and well that my wife would be riding my cock in a matter of minutes.

She leaned over me, pressing our chests together as she started kissing, licking and sucking on my neck.

I reached around grasping her ass, pulling her ass cheeks apart. I moved her over me causing her wetness to rub on me. I was slowly starting to get hard, again.

"I'm so horny," she said, sitting up and cupping her tits. She started pulling at her nipples as she pivoted her hips.

I was completely rock hard again in a matter of minutes and wanted nothing more than to lift her up enough so she could sink down on me.

That's exactly what happened next. I raised her enough so she could reach down and align our happy places.

Slowly, she sank down on me. When she was fully sheathed, she shivered, "Oh, sweet Jesus."

I reached up to move her hands away from her tits so I could rub them. Her nipples were as hard as small pebbles. If it were a possibility, I felt like I got harder when she started to move over me. The feeling was so unbelievable that my eyes rolled to the back of my head as the euphoria tingled down my body.

She placed her hands on my chest so she could move faster. Her hips moved back and forth over me then she'd raise herself up then down a few times. The rhythm she tortured me with, made my balls ache for release. Our appetites were monstrous when we were done with our morning lovemaking.

I was going to love waking up next to my wife every morning.

My wife cooked us breakfast after we cleaned up. We didn't have any plans for the day, so we decided to stay in our pajamas and do nothing. We had plenty of food and my dad had cable and internet wired into the pool house, leaving us with plenty to keep us occupied.

All day, no one called or even came by; they were letting us have our time. The next day was school and the real world.

Time started flying by and it was just a few weeks away for graduation. Bella decided to take the test that would allow her to graduate early.

Alice was a little upset at first, but she knew it was for the best. Especially for Bella and how close she was to her due date. It wasn't until August, but we agreed she'd stick close to home once the date got closer.

Married life was just that - married life. I was still extremely happy and Bella seemed as if she were just as happy. We've gotten into a couple of heated arguments, but the make-up sex was a whole lot better.

The more round her belly got, I found her even more sexy. She's had to push me away a few times to give her a break. She was just as insatiable, but I'd have to say, it was more me than her.

Renee had a nice size to her belly, too. Everyone teased her that she was having twins, but to no avail, she just smiled and patted her stomach. I'd never seen her more happier since I've known her. The same with Phil.

Anthony has pretty much left us alone. His groupies, too. He still eyed Bella like he longed for her. Bella thinks he's finally given up and finally moved on. As long as he left us alone, we didn't care what he did. But why did he stick around if he knew he couldn't have Bella back?

I wasn't planning on asking him, so I just left it alone and minded my own business. Bella did the same and mostly fussed about how big her stomach was getting.

Her and Alice had taken a few girl days so they could go pick out some maternity clothes. She didn't want anything that made her look like a seventies pregnant woman. She wanted to stick with the style that was popular. That would be hip hugger jeans or shorts and tank tops.

Every time Bella put on a pair of those shorts, that was my undoing. Nearly every time, I dragged her back to the bedroom and had my wicked way with her. Thankfully she never complained and most of the time, I think she did it on purpose just to see my reaction.

She was a naughty girl, so I had to give her a little spanking every so often. Alice said our interaction with each other grossed her out. I felt the same way about her and Jasper. It was pretty cool that they were together, but I didn't want to compare notes. That's just something I refused to share. The only person I talk to about my sex life, is my wife. I don't even joke around about it. Well, that's not entirely true. Every once in a while we poke fun at each other, but that's about as far as we let it go.

Graduation day had finally arrived and we were in our bedroom getting dressed. My wife was wearing a spaghetti strap sundress that was driving me absolutely insane. There's no way I was letting her out of our house without having her first.

She walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth, so I eased up behind her and placed my hands on her hips. My lips found the side of her neck where I started giving her small sucks. I didn't want to mark her before we left for our graduation; she'd probably twist my balls.

"What are you doing?" She turned the water on for a quick second so she could wet her toothbrush.

I nibbled at her earlobe. "What's it look like?"

"You do know that we have to leave in about fifteen minutes, right?" She put her toothbrush into her mouth and started brushing her teeth.

I raised the back of her dress and started pushing her panties down. "We have plenty of time." Then I worked my erection free from the confines of my jeans.

"Edward?"

"Yes, baby?" I pushed on her back, but not before I moved a stepping stool over to prop her foot on. It was in the bathroom so she could reach the top shelf of the linen closet.

She pushed her ass out and bent over the sink more. "Oh, fuck it. It's hard to tell you no."

I slipped inside of her. "You feel so damn good." I started moving fast, causing her to grab a hold of the edge of the sink for leverage as I took advantage of her.

"Oh, God, yes!" She was so wet that the sounds were echoing off the bathroom walls as I pounded away at her very slippery wonderland. It turned me on even more just hearing them.

It didn't take long before I was ready to blow my load. As soon as I felt Bella tighten, I knew I was next, so I pulled out and jacked myself until I came all over my hand.

"Why the hell did you pull out?" She dropped her foot from the stool, pulled her panties up and stood with her hands on her hips.

I grabbed some toilet paper and cleaned myself up then washed my hands on my side of the sink. I stepped in front of her and put my hands on her waist. "You, my gorgeous, beautifully pregnant wife, will complain later about my jizz dripping out of you if I came inside of you. So, I saved you the trouble and pulled out."

"Oh," she said with a pouty lip. "I don't complain that much, do I?"

"No," I replied, kissing the tip of her nose. "Now, tell me you love me so we can become high school graduates."

"I love you more than all the stars in the sky, Mr. Cullen." She stretched on tip-toes and pressed her lips to mine.

We made it to school just as everyone was lining up. Bella was standing in front of me because they went in alphabetical order. If she hadn't changed her name, she'd be close to the back of the line.

Anthony was walking by as I slipped my arms over Bella's shoulders. He stopped for a second and looked at her stomach before he made his way toward the back of the line. "What's his deal?" I whispered in Bella's ear.

"Who cares," she replied. "He's not our problem, remember?"

Two hours later, we were high school graduates.

We were all going out to eat, courtesy of my parents, to celebrate.

My dad decided he wanted to eat at an All-You-Can-Eat buffet, of all places. I guess he wanted everyone to get their fill.

As we were eating, a tall burly man approached the table and smiled at me. When Bella looked up, her breath hitched and her eyes opened wider than saucers. "Hi, Bella."

"Emmett?"

* * *

 **OMG! Emmett? Yup, we have Emmett back in the picture.**

 **I might have to give you two chapters tonight.**

 **I'm your biggest fan. Leave me some love.**

 **RTB**


	34. Chapter 34

**I had to give you two chapters tonight. I wanted you to hear from Emmett and a couple of other people.**

 **FYI: I have mashed together True Blood, Vampire Diaries and a little bit of Charmed, Witches of Eastwick...whatever I could think of.**

 **Hope you like it. I'm apologizing beforehand if you get confused.**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns most of the characters and I own all the mistakes.**

 **2/15/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 34**

 **BPOV**

* * *

"Emmett?"

"Yeah, hey. Can I talk to you? Outside?" He looked really nervous and seemed guarded as he stood in front of me.

I hadn't seen Emmett in more than a year and here he was standing in front of me.

I looked at Edward then over to my dad. "I'll be okay," I told them. "Do you mind if my dad and husband join us?"

Emmett's eyes grew wide when he gave Edward a good once over. "Is he...?"

"No," I replied. "This is Edward. He's Anthony's doppelganger and my husband."

"Um...okay. Could've fooled me." He stepped back from the table which made me notice, at a table by the wall opposite of us, sat watching our interaction was Marcus and Claire.

I stood from the table with the help of Edward. Emmett noticed my protruding stomach. "I'm seven months."

"Wow," he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

The four of us made our way outside. No one else asked any questions as we made our exit.

Once outside, I took a seat on a bench that was for waiting customers. "Is this a coincidence that you're here?"

Emmett gave me a sad smile. "No," he answered. "We've been around for a while, but wanted to let you lead your own life."

"Thank you," I said. "So, why show up here, then?"

Emmett leaned against a pole that had a sign for handicap parking attached to it. "It's kind of a long story," he said. "We thought that it was time to approach you when we found out Anthony was here."

"He's been here for months. So why bother now?" I rubbed my hand over my baby as she kicked me. Yes, we found out we're having a baby girl.

"We came for your protection, and now Anthony took off right after your graduation. We tried to talk to him, but he bolted. We don't know where he went or if he's even coming back, but we think otherwise. We think he has something planned."

I looked at him like he was an idiot. "Why in the hell would he have something planned? He's left us alone. He doesn't try to talk to me, anymore."

"There's some things you don't know about him that we thought you were privy of knowing." I noticed the door open to the restaurant revealing Marcus and Claire. They noticed where we were and came to stand next to Emmett.

Marcus and Claire had always made me feel welcome into their lives and I loved them dearly. Until now, I thought they were a part of Anthony's evilness.

"Hi, Bella," Claire said. "It's so good to see you, and I've missed you so much."

I gave her a small smile. "Hi Claire. It's good to see you."

"Is there somewhere we can go so we can be out of the public eye? There's some stuff that we know and need to explain to you." Marcus had his arm around Claire's waist as he waited for our answer.

I looked to my dad then to Edward. Then the rest of our family walked through the door.

When they approached, I introduced them. "I want everyone to meet Emmett, Marcus and Claire. They're Anthony's adoptive family."

Esme gasped as she laid eyes on them. "You look just like..."

Her eyes were on Claire. "It's me."

I wasn't sure who they were talking about, but Claire knew exactly who Esme was referring to. "I can't believe this." I was definitely confused by Esme's reaction to seeing Claire.

"If you'll let us explain, I think you might understand a whole lot better," Marcus said. "Is there somewhere we can all have a seat and talk?"

Carlisle spoke up first. "We can go back to our house."

I looked to my mom and Phil. Then my dad decided to speak up. "I think it's time we share this with your mother."

I wasn't exactly sure she'd understand, but she was wise and a believer. "Share what?" Phil asked.

Alice and Jasper tagged along, as well. Jasper already knew about Alice being a witch, so why not add to his list of things he should know?

"We'll explain when we get to Carlisle's," my dad said.

After Marcus and Claire agreed to follow us back to Carlisle and Esme's, we piled into our cars. Edward had to help me up into his truck, which he hadn't sold. He was procrastinating, but that was okay. I'd have part of my inheritance in a few months. Plus, starting the upcoming Monday, Edward would start full time at his dad's business.

I wasn't exactly sure what Carlisle had him doing, but I did know he kept him busy. Thankfully, he didn't seem to have a problem with it, and they worked well together.

By the time we made it to the house, I was a nervous wreck. I wanted to know what they had to tell me, but then again, I could care less. Maybe we would have some more insight as to why Anthony was the way he is. We'd all be better off if he'd just move to a completely different continent.

When we got inside, we headed to the kitchen where Esme started a pot of coffee and got me a glass of tea. "I see you still like iced tea," Claire said.

I nodded, answering her. "It's all I can really drink anymore."

"The pregnancy?" She asked.

"Yes. Everything else doesn't taste right." Edward sat down next to me and slid my glass of tea toward me.

"Okay, now that everyone is comfortable, we're anxious to hear what you have to tell us." My dad was just as curious, if not more.

Marcus pulled some papers from his pocket and handed them to me. I looked over them and couldn't understand a thing. Then I noticed something familiar and knew that Esme would be the better person to read the papers. It had something to do with ancient witch stuff.

As Esme was reading over the papers, Marcus started with his story. "A hundred and thirteen years ago we met this young man who was lost in life. There were days he was the nicest kid I had ever met then others, he was the worst. That was until I found out what was going on with him."

"Are you talking about Anthony?" I asked, interrupting his story.

"Yes, before he was changed. He had just turned seventeen when we first met him. I was working in the clinic of the small town where he lived in Ireland. Claire was my nurse and Anthony had come in to see us one day with burns on his hands. He never told us how they got there, so I treated him and sent him on his way."

Marcus stood from the table and started pacing as he told his story. I remember him doing the same thing when he told me about when he became a vampire. "There was a lot of talk going around that witches lived in town and there was going to be a hunt. See, back in that era, witches were evil and needed to be put to death."

"Was this like a witch hunt?" This was sounding too good to be true. I glanced around the room, looking at my mom and Phil. My mom seemed really interested in what Marcus was saying, but Phil had a look a massive confusion.

"Exactly," he replied. "So, on the day all this was supposed to happen, Anthony came into our clinic, again. He was distraught and deathly afraid that they'd come after him."

"Why would they go after him? He's not a warlock." I was a little confused. I needed to keep my mouth shut and let him talk.

"That's where all this comes into play and why he's acting the way he is." Marcus stopped and leaned against the wall. "At seventeen, Anthony was just coming into his own. He had found out just months before his birthday that he had inherited the warlock jean from his father. He never knew about his witch sister until many years later."

"Wait, wait, wait..." Phil said. "Is this all supposed to be real or just a story you're telling?"

My dad spoke up to answer his question. "Let him finish with his story and we'll explain everything when he's done."

Phil shook his head. "Fine, but this stuff like a crock of shit."

"Go ahead, Marcus," I said, willing him to continue.

"Thank you." He gave me a small smile. "Anthony was afraid for his life. He told us all about his fear and needed a way to get away from being a warlock and keep from being killed for something he couldn't control, but we didn't know what to do, so we convinced him that it was nothing but talk and he should be okay to go home. So he did. But then later that same night, fortunately, Claire and I were still at the clinic when Anthony came falling in the door. He was beaten so badly that we could barely tell it was him."

"He told me he had some kind of illness that would have killed him if he weren't changed," I conveyed.

Marcus shook his head. "It's not true. He never wanted anything to do with witches or warlocks and refused to ever talk about them even though he was supposed to be one himself. If he had it his way, there wouldn't be a witch or warlock left on this planet."

"Are you kidding me? This has to be..."

Marcus raised his hand. "I assure you that it's entirely the truth. That night when he came in barely alive, Claire and I made the decision to give him my blood to heal him. We knew there was a huge possibility that he'd die anyway. We also knew that if he died, he'd have my blood in him and he'd turn. It was a risk I was willing to take. We'd grown fond of him. Even though we saw some of his cruelness, very rarely, we knew he could be a good person."

He made a sad face and took a deep breath. "That night, a bunch of people forced their way into the clinic and dragged him out. We tried to stop them, but there were so many of them that we couldn't fight them off. We couldn't out ourselves as Vampires, so we had no choice but to be human. All we could do was follow them to where they were taking him. With our speed, and evasiveness, we were able to stay in the shadows where they couldn't see us. We watched as they tied him to a post and set him on fire with four other women. His father was amongst them. He kept screaming that Anthony had nothing to do with it, but we later found out that the burns on Anthony's hands, that first time we met him, was him practicing spells and making potions. One backfired on him causing chemical burns on his hands. That's why he never wanted anything to do with being a warlock. He felt he was a failure at it and wanted everything magic gone from this world."

"This is all weird. He never told me any of this stuff," I expressed more to myself than to anyone in the room. Even though I wanted nothing to do with Anthony, I felt a little hurt that he never shared that with me.

Claire placed her hand on mine then jerked it back just as quick. "Shit!" I cursed, yanking my ring off and grabbing for Claire's hand. "I'm so sorry. That wasn't meant for you."

She looked at me confused. "I put a spell on that ring that if any vampire touched her, they'd get a nice shock." Esme tried explaining only forcing confusion on poor Phil. I could see it all over his face. But my mom...she just sat there watching us like she was at a tennis match.

"I hadn't seen anything like that in a lot of years," Claire said. "I think I'm impressed."

I grasped Claire's hand in mine and brought the red spot to my mouth and gave it a small kiss. I wanted to let her know that I didn't mean to hurt her. "I'm sorry."

Claire brought her other hand up to my head and smoothed my hair back over my ear. "Don't apologize. I know you'd never do anything to hurt me."

"I feel bad. All along I knew that you and Marcus weren't involved with anything that Anthony was doing. I think I was more hurt by you guys leaving and not saying good-bye than by Anthony leaving."

Phil jumped from the table. "Now hold on just a minute!"

"Phil, sit down," mom said.

"No! I wanna know what the hell this is all about. I hear witches and warlocks and now vampires?" He looked around the room at everyone. "Someone needs to explain this, right now!"

Jasper stepped forward. "Dude; I'm learning about all this stuff, too."

"This isn't right. My daughter is sitting at this table listening to a story about vampires and warlocks. Why do I not know anything about it?"

My dad stood from the table and put his hand on Phil's shoulder. "You'll know in due time, bud. Let Marcus finish with his story and then we'll talk, okay?"

Phil gave him an incredulous look. "Why aren't you just as confused as me?"

"You'll find out why when Marcus is done telling his story. So, sit down next to Nee and listen." Dad guided Phil back to his seat, encouraging him to sit.

Phil looked at my mom. "And you? You're not acting surprised at all, either."

Mom kissed his cheek. "Like Charlie said, you'll know all of it once we get the whole story about Anthony."

Phil crossed his arms over his chest and began to pout like a petulant child. "Fine, but I want every last detail and the truth."

"You'll get it," Carlisle said, taking Esme's hand and holding it on the table.

"Marcus, please continue," my dad instructed nicely.

Marcus smiled and took a sip of his drink that Esme had made for him before he started his story. "Okay, well, that night that Anthony and his father were burned to death, Claire and I knew that Anthony would change, so once the courtyard was clear of any prying eyes, we took Anthony and brought him back to our home. It took a couple of days for him to completely heal from being burned alive, but after three days, Anthony woke up. He freaked out and started screaming. Once we got him calmed down, he started freaking out, again when his fangs popped down. He hadn't fed and we still hadn't explained to him what had happened, so Claire got him a bottle of blood so he could feed. It took about four bottles before he seemed to calm down. After that, we encouraged him to take a shower because he still had scorch marks on his skin."

He took another drink and finished what was in his glass. "Esme, do you mind if I asked for something stronger? A good scotch if you have it."

"Sure," Esme said, standing from the table. "Would anyone else like something stronger?"

My mom stood from the table. "I'll help."

All the parents agreed to something just a bit stronger and took a few sips before Marcus started with his story, again. Mom took her seat next to Phil, pushing his drink in front of him, encouraging him to drink it. She, along with the rest of us, wanted Phil to relax and listen to what Marcus had to say. Jasper was taking in the news a hell of a lot better than Phil; that's for sure.

"This is good. Thank you, Esme."

"You're welcome," she replied.

"Okay, so after Anthony took his shower, we finally got him to sit and listen as we explained what had happened. He then informed us that his father was pushing him to learn his powers because he was the last of his kind. His dad never told him why or explained anything to him. He just pushed and pushed for Anthony to want to be the best Warlock there ever was. Even better than him. So, over the years, the conversation never came up about him being a warlock. Well, almost being a warlock. He literally refused to embrace anything about becoming a warlock. If he had anything to do with it, they'd never exist. That's why we never brought the subject up to him, but his powers have just been dormant for all these years. We don't think he even knows he can still get them to work and Claire never wanted to bring it up to him because he'd never listen. She was willing to teach him and help him understand that being what he rightfully is, wasn't a bad thing. "

Marcus gave us a sad smile. "Years later, we found out he had been hunting witches and killing them so they couldn't reproduce. But there was one thing he failed to tell us and that was every one hundred years or so, a witch is capable of reproducing a warlock and a witch. He thought he had killed most of them until he found out that Lauren was a witch. That's why he killed her. Lauren hadn't known she was a witch, but Anthony caught wind of it from Lauren's mother when she was having a conversation with Lauren's grandmother."

He took his seat back at the table next to Claire and took a deep breath. "That's why we left without saying anything to anyone. We didn't even wait for him to come with us. Our relationship with him was over because he refused to stop killing. He was doing so good for years until you came along. We couldn't interfere, though. He was happy and we didn't want to mess things up because we thought he was changing. After the first time he, well, drank from you, he was obsessed and if anything so much as threatened to take you away from him…" Marcus trailed off as he reached over and took my hand. "He was still killing and we were sure if you knew the real reason he was so attached to you that you'd freak out." Marcus took a few deep breaths before he continued.

"He really did fall for you. Over the years he never showed signs of ever being with only one girl until he met you. We don't know what happened after we found out he killed Lauren. It was going too far, so we moved to Alaska, where we have family. We stayed there until we found out, through Emmett's ex, Rosalie, that Anthony was here. She told him all about you being here, too. Then we found out she got too involved with Anthony when she disappeared. Emmett found out through friends of ours that Rosalie's remains were found outside a football stadium in Orlando. It was all kept hush, hush, and we were thankful that our friends were able to cover it up."

"This is crazy; he's crazy," I said, shaking my head. "Does this mean he's gonna try and kill Alice and Esme? And what's so special about me? I just don't get it."

Claire spoke up first as she looked over at my mom. "We're under the assumption that he might try, but then again, we also found out something else."

My eyes grew wide. "There's more?"

"I'm afraid so," Marcus said. "If we're correct Esme has reproduced a Warlock and a witch."

"Oh my," Esme said. "I had no idea. I wonder why I never noticed. I really didn't start reading my book until Edward and Bella experienced something I couldn't explain. I never found anything."

"Thank God it isn't me," Evan said, patting Edward on the back. "You can have all this magic shit."

"Ha ha," Edward said.

"So, help me understand this better. Anthony was supposed to be the last warlock of his time and was killed because of it and then became a vampire who hated anything that had to do with witches or warlocks?"

"That's correct," Marcus answered.

"So, all this means that Esme gave birth to a witch and a warlock, not knowing this whole time. Of course the witch being Alice and from what I'm understanding from all this, Edward is the warlock?"

"Again, you're correct."

"Does this mean that my daughter is going to be a witch?" Edward asked.

Marcus and Claire seemed to know more about all this magic stuff than Esme. She'd lived her whole life knowing she was a witch, but never knew what the witch and warlock legacy was. She'd also admitted to only working with magic here and there just because Alice wanted to learn all she can about being a witch.

"No," Claire replied. "She will more than likely be something else or nothing at all like her Uncle Evan."

Edward nodded. "I guess that's good. Or it could be bad. Depending on how you look at it."

"So, what conclusion have we come to when it comes to Anthony?" My dad asked. "We need to know what to look for."

"Anytime I've encountered him alone, he's always told me I needed to get rid of my baby. The only reason I can think of is, he assumed I would have a boy and it would be a warlock. I wonder if he knew Edward was a warlock?"

Claire shook her head. "I don't think it'll be that way. When you and Edward first started being intimate with each other, you set off the beginnings of his warlock powers because of your inherited genes. And on the day of your seventeenth birthday you should've felt something different about you."

"What the hell does that supposed to mean? My inherited genes? I'm just some dumb chick who got involved with a crazy vampire."

"No you're not," my mom said. "There's something that no one knows about who we are."

My mom sat silent most of the time that Marcus was explaining everything. Her speaking up took me completely by surprise. "You're confusing me. What are we?"

"I'm Fae which means you are, too."

* * *

 **You might be confused, if so, let me know and I'll try and explain it better. I know where I'm going with this, but I think I might have confused myself reading this again.**

 **RTB**


	35. Chapter 35

**First off, I wanna send out my thoughts and prayers to the victims and families that lost someone in the Florida shooting. It's horrible to hear stuff like that then thank God that your kid or loved one is home and safe with you.**

 **Enough of the heavy.**

 ******There's some hanky panky going on. Just a warning.**** Their sex is on Fire!**

 **No copy right infringement...You know the drill.**

 **2/16/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 35**

 **BPOV**

* * *

"I'm Fae which means you are, too."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Excuse me?"

"I said..."

I couldn't let her finish. "I heard what you said. What I can't understand is, why am I just now finding out about this?"

My dad decided he wanted in on this conversation, too. "Yeah, Renee. Why are we just now finding out about this?"

"You mean you didn't know?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "No. I had no idea."

I looked at my mom as Phil decided he wanted to get up from the table. "I can't believe this."

"Phil?" Mom tried to get his attention as he walked from the room. "Phil, please? You have to let me explain."

She got up from the table and followed him from the kitchen. I didn't want to interfere, but this had a lot to do with me too, so I got up and followed them.

They were in the living room. "This whole time we've been together and you felt I should be kept in the dark about this? All of this shit? Did you know about any of the stuff that they were talking about in there?"

Mom sat down on the couch and put her face in her hands. "Yes. I've known about this stuff my whole life, but I chose to keep it a secret. I had, too. We'd be dead like my parents if I didn't keep this to myself."

"What do you mean, like your parents? They died when a tornado hit the subdivision they lived in." Phil was pacing back and forth, pulling at his hair trying to understand what he was being told.

"It wasn't a tornado that killed my parents. It was Unseelie Fae that did it. They didn't believe in my father's ruling. Luckily, I was already married to Charlie and moved out of the house when they came after my father."

It was my turn to question her. I took a deep breath. "What was wrong with his ruling? Was he on some sort of counsel and they didn't like what he was involved in?"

"No," she replied. "Bella," she turned toward me. "Your grandfather was Fae King."

"KING!" I exclaimed. "A FREAKIN' KING!"

Edward walked into the room just as I was having my own freak out. "Bella, you need to calm down."

"Screw that! My mom's lied to me my whole life. She just told me she's a FUCKING FAIRY!"

"Isabella Marie!" Mom yelled.

"What?!" Edward tried to walk me over to the couch to sit, but I was too wound up to try. "I can't believe this. And Dad doesn't even know?"

I took a few deep breaths to try and calm myself. The baby was doing somersaults the more I ranted.

"I had planned on telling your father until my parents were murdered. It was then I decided to hide what we are. I couldn't let them find us or they'd try to kill us, too."

My mom was crying so hard that she could barely get a hold of herself.

At that moment, Phil came walking over and sat down. He wrapped his arms around her to calm her down. I knew he could get through to her. He's always been able to.

Edward wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close enough to whisper in my ear. "You need to calm down, babe. I know this is a lot to take in, but you have to chill."

I nodded in agreement. "I don't understand."

"I do and you need to let your mom explain more. With you and Phil being jack-asses, it's hard for her to tell you what's going on." He kissed my temple. "Please calm down or we'll end up in the ER with you or your mom in premature labor; we can't have that."

"I know," I agreed. "I'll do my best."

I decided I needed to sit by my mother and let her know that I'd stop being a petulant child and listen to what she had to say. My dad came walking in a moment later so he could get the story himself. He took news like this a whole lot better than I ever would.

Dad sat down on the coffee table in front of us and took my mother's hand. "Nee, I've know you practically your whole life and you kept this from me."

"I know, Charlie. I planned on telling you until my parents were killed. That scared me to death, so I made the decision to keep it from you." She sobbed into Phil's neck. "I couldn't lose you, too and if they found out I was pregnant, they'd for sure come after me."

"Okay, but how...?"

"I never used my abilities. If I had, they would have found me." Then she looked at me. "But from what I understand, some stuff has been happening with Bella and Edward and now I'm afraid they'll know now."

"What?" I turned to look at her better. "You have to make me understand?"

Mom gave me a sad smile. "Have you been experiencing weird vibrations when you're intimate with Edward?"

I immediately felt embarrassed. "Mom? Really?"

"Just answer the question," she demanded.

"Fine; yes. There's humming and some vibrations, but it's not like it was in the beginning. We barely hear it anymore."

Mom's eyes grew wide. "Oh, God."

"What's wrong?" Phil asked. "What's going on?"

Esme and the rest of the company came into the living room where we were. Marcus, Claire and Emmett were still here and joined us.

I was so overwhelmed with all the news I was hearing. My mom is a Fae Princess and I was the granddaughter of the Fae King. My husband is a warlock that he had no idea about, either. My ex-boyfriend, who was supposed to be a warlock and could potentially be again, but he was killed and when he was killed, he had vampire blood in his system which caused him to go through the change, making him into a vampire. Through his life, he's hated witches and has killed them to keep from anymore being born. I was still a little confused about where Esme comes into this whole story, and how Claire looks so familiar to her. It was all gibberish.

"I know what you're thinking," I heard Claire say. "Esme's a distant relative of Anthony's. He's her great, great, great, great Uncle. He had a witch sister that he knew nothing about. His father was married to a witch and had a daughter with her. She was supposed to be burned like he was, but was able to get away. Anthony knows now, but back then, he had no idea."

"So he's my uncle?" Esme asked. "Good God. What in the hell is this world coming to?"

Then Edward had to put his two cents in. "That makes him an uncle to me, too, right? I don't know how this shit works. He's my cousin, he's my uncle, he's my mortal enemy. Who gives a FU..."

"Edward!" Esme smacked his arm.

Edward was the comic of the moment and everyone laughed.

Alice decided she wanted to make her presence known. "So, what does it mean if me and Jasper are experiencing sorta the same thing? I mean, stuff floats and hums."

Esme giggled. "It doesn't mean anything too particular. Just that you're a witch still learning how to use your powers."

"Oh, thank God," Alice said. "I thought maybe I was a fairy instead of a witch."

Mom laughed along with Esme and myself. "No, sweetheart. You're definitely a witch."

"So, when me and Edward were first intimate, it triggered his...I don't know what you call it, but it happened because I'm part Fae, so is he's supposed to start shooting fireworks from his fingers now?"

There was more laughter from around the room and I was glad that the atmosphere around us had finally calmed. "He'll have to learn," Esme said. "I have plenty of books he could learn from, and I'm sure Claire wouldn't mind helping out if they decide to stay in town."

I looked over at Claire. "Yes, I'm a Vampire witch. I've been around for many, many years and that's why I looked so familiar to Esme when she first met me. I've been published in a few books."

Esme chuckled. "More than a few."

I stood and walked to Marcus, Claire and Emmett. I reached out to wrap my arms around Claire. "Thank you," I said. "You didn't have to come here and tell us."

I pulled away from her and went to Marcus. "I know this is a bit premature, but are you guys living down here now?"

Emmett spoke up. "We may be vampires, but the cold does not suit me, so yeah, we packed up and moved down here. I wanted to be here to help protect you, too." That's when I noticed his ring and Marcus', too.

"Why don't you have to have something to keep from burning in the sun?" I asked Claire.

She shrugged. "It's a double standard. When I was first turned, I wore an amulet for years until one day it broke. I had it on a chain around my neck. That's when I found out I didn't need it."

I shrugged. "That's a plus for you." Then I turned and noticed my dad talking to my mom and Phil. I only hoped they could work through all the secret keeping. "Good," I said. "I think I need to introduce my husband to you formally."

Edward walked up, removed his ring before reaching to shake all their hands. "Make sure you put that back on as soon as you walk out that door." Claire said.

"We just live in the pool house," I said

"That's cool," Emmett said then pulled me into a huge bear hug. "I've missed you, Izzy." He put me back on the floor. "If I knew you'd end up with a guy who looked just like Anthony, I would have warned you."

"Why? Edward's my soul mate; we were meant to be together," I told him. "Alice is good with seeing things."

"Ah..." he said. "That's cool."

The evening wound down as we said goodnight to Marcus, Claire and Emmett. We promised to see each other soon and make plans. Esme and Claire hit it off and were definitely looking forward to spending some more time together. Claire want to help her improve her magic, and hopefully Marcus and Emmett would fit in somewhere, as well.

When Edward and I walked into our apartment, I couldn't help but sigh in relief after kicking my shoes off by the door. Edward did the same before he latched his hands on my shoulders and started rubbing. "That feels so good."

He moved my hair to the side and kissed my neck. "You up to some fooling around?"

I turned into his arms. "I'm always up to fooling around with my husband. Or should I say, warlock husband?"

He chuckled. "That'll take some time to get used to."

"I bet. How do you think I feel? We're both supernatural creatures."

He shook his head. "We're not supernatural creatures; that's Jacob. We're called magic folk, I suppose."

Speaking of Jacob, he wasn't with us tonight and I figured it was because he was doing his rounds. We barely see him much anymore.

I laughed, "Okay, I guess that sounds about right."

We made our way into the bedroom and undressed. Edward was inside me the moment we climbed on the bed. We weren't rushed, so we took our time with each other.

The next day, we slept in. It was a Saturday, so we weren't doing anything but hanging around the house and keeping each other company. I wanted to go talk to my mom, but I figured I'd give her a day or so before I shoved all of this back at her. She needed that time to gather her bearings. She still had some explaining to do, especially to my dad. He'd known her nearly her whole life and he didn't know a thing about her, it seemed.

The following Monday came and it was Edward's first full day of work. I was excited for him, but he's already been working there for months; just not full time. He was finally going to see what it was like to bring home the bacon, as he said.

My mom still had a week of school left and then she'd be off for summer break. Her due date was in the middle of July, so she planned to get the nursery all set up and ready for when the baby came. Her and Phil still hadn't shared with any of us as to what the sex of the baby is. They were keeping it to themselves until the day she gives birth.

As for me, I was spending my summer growing my daughter and hanging out with her Auntie Alice. We hadn't made a decision on a name for her just yet, but we have a few in mind. Alice keeps pushing for us to name her after her favorite aunt. At the moment, she only has one aunt, so Alice claiming the favorite aunt of the year, was fine by me.

When Wednesday rolled around, I had a visit from Claire. I was more than happy with her coming by. We talked about what they've been up to for the last year or so and I told her all about Edward. She found it humorous how we first met and didn't blame me for putting the smack down on him. She was, all in all, happy for me. She knew once I was away from Anthony, that'd I'd find where my life was supposed to be. All those months he had me compelled and she couldn't do anything about. She apologized profusely. I told her it wasn't her fault and if she wanted forgiveness, then she had it.

That Friday night, we all met for dinner at the main house. Marcus, Claire and Emmett were invited. We were still learning stuff about Anthony's past and what could steer him away from me. With me pregnant, they wanted to make sure I was completely watched over. Emmett volunteered to help Jacob out. It took a bit to get those two to talk to each other, but we got it worked out.

Me, Marcus and Claire finally convinced Jacob that all vampires weren't bad. He relented and gave them the benefit of the doubt. It was instilled in Jacob's mind that all vampires were the enemy, but the little bit of time that he's been around the Mason's, they've grown on him for the most part because he knew that my safety was a priority and that they were part of my safety.

"Have you met anyone new?" I asked Emmett as we sat at the kitchen table and munched on some salt water taffy from the boardwalk.

He gave me a small chuckle. "No. I've not really been looking after what Rosalie did to me. That's a whole other story."

"You do know that she went out with Edward's older brother, right?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that Bitch. I guess she got what she deserved, but I don't wish death on anyone who cheats. But she did deserve it for what she was trying to do to you."

"She tried to get me away from Edward and back to Anthony more than once. He even tried to get her to kidnap me. Unfortunately, I've been drinking Vervain tea, so she wasn't able to compel me. Esme made sure that Evan had Vervain in his system, too. Apparently, she'd been feeding from him until Esme started giving him the tea. I have no clue how she convinced him to drink it every day, and luckily Rosalie couldn't feed from him anymore." I sighed, remembering how messed up Evan was when she broke things off with him. "He really liked her. He was so depressed for a while."

"I was, too, but I didn't waste too much time crying over it." Emmett said. "You got any hot friends available?"

I laughed at him. "No, I'm sorry, bud. I'll keep my eye out for you, though. There's some pretty sexy ladies living down here you can check out."

"Tell me about it. I've been walking around with a constant boner," he said, sighing like it was a bad thing to be a horny guy.

Edward laughed. "That's me when we're at home alone," he said, leaning over and sucking some skin from my neck into his mouth.

I smacked him away. "You do not."

"I believe Edward only because you're knocked up," Emmett said, patting Edward on his back. "Dude, good for you. If I could find a chick to knock up with my kid, I'd have a house full."

I looked at Emmett sadly. "So, I've never asked, but can vampires reproduce?"

"Anthony never told you?" I shook my head. "I figured he would."

"No. For some reason, the conversation never came up and I never questioned him when he used condoms. That made him more human in my eyes, I suppose." I looked at Edward because I was afraid our conversation would upset him, so I took his hand and gave it a little squeeze. "You okay? I know this isn't stuff you wanna hear."

He gave me a blinding smile. "I'm fine. You're my wife and having my kid. I know I'm coming home to you every night and I don't even notice you checking out other guys."

"And you won't. I'm married to the hottest guy this side of Orlando," I said, jokingly. "Sorry, Emmett. You're cute and all, but nothing stands up to my Edward."

"No offense taken. But to answer your question, yes, we can have kids. For other vampire women there's a certain time table for them to conceive and for human women, they'd get pregnant at the drop of a dime. I've only had a few human girlfriends in my time, and we can always tell when it's the human woman's fertile time."

"Why didn't Claire and Marcus have any kids of their own?" I knew they took Emmett and Anthony in as their own children and I never knew to question them about having other children.

Emmett released a sad sigh. "In Claire's human life, well, she should be the one telling you, but I don't think she'd mind, but uh... she was brutally raped and there was so much damage done to her internally that they had to do a complete hysterectomy on her to save her life."

"Oh, God. I had no idea," I said, as I felt the tears well up.

"It's all good. She's had a couple hundred years to come to terms with it," he said.

I smiled. "I know Marcus had kids, and I hope that one day, you'll find that certain someone that'll make your life complete."

"Yeah, me, too."

We were quiet for a few minutes before Emmett broke the ice, again, "So, Harry Potter, when are you gonna start working on some of that voodoo shit?"

Edward wholeheartedly laughed. "Harry Potter? That's...Never mind, I guess I could be the next best wizard like Harry Potter."

"Don't you think that's cool, though? Heck, I'd rather be a wizard over a vampire, any day."

"I'm really surprised that you can't be both. I mean, if Anthony was supposed to be a Warlock and changed into a vampire, why not be both? I mean, he could be a Warlock Vampire."

Emmett shoved another piece of candy into his mouth. "He could if he wanted to, but he hates witches and wizard stuff so much that he doesn't even consider himself associated with that possibility."

"Why does he hate it so much?" I took the last piece of candy before Edward could grab it and got it in my mouth before he could even blink. I loved this stuff. I could eat it all day and night.

Emmett thought for a minute. "I'd say, and I do believe it's because that's what took his parents away from him and his father was forcing it on him. His mother was killed because of associating with witches in general and as you know, his father was a warlock. After their deaths and he was changed, he absolutely hates everything having to do with anything of that world."

Carlisle came walking into the kitchen. "What are you kids up to?"

All the parents were off in the other room having their pow-wow while us younger folk, minus Emmett whom was eighteen when he was turned, were keeping each other company away from them. Alice was with Jasper, as usual, and she really wasn't used to the fact that her parents were now friends with vampires.

"Just gib-gabbing," Edward replied, then glanced down at his watch. "Me and Bella are about to head out. She gets real cranky if she doesn't get her eight hours of sleep."

"Hey, now! Just lately." I pouted, and slouched back in my chair. "Stop picking on me."

"You've changed so much," Emmett said to me. "It's a good change, though. I like it."

I smiled at him. He was definitely missed over the last year. We didn't really talk too much when I was with Anthony and I know why now. Emmett was guarded because of the way Anthony was. I wouldn't hold it against him, though. "Thank you\; I'm happier."

"I can tell," he said, lifting his drink and finishing off the rest of his water. "I'm gonna go see if Marcus and Claire are ready to head out."

They all left about fifteen minutes later when me and Edward decided to call it a night. I was definitely tired from doing absolutely nothing all day except laundry. I wanted to get it all done so I wouldn't have anything to do during the weekend. It was a pain in the ass to lug all the laundry over to the main house, but it had to be done. There was a small room for a washer and dryer at our place, but we hadn't had time to get one. It wasn't a necessity at the moment. We just wanted to make sure we had a set before our little one comes along.

I had to run straight to the bathroom as soon as we walked through the door. I was having to pee more than usual even though my mom said it was normal. The same thing was going on with her, plus, she's been through a pregnancy before where I hadn't.

Edward tapped on the bathroom door just as I was pulling my maternity shorts up. "You okay?"

"I just had to pee really bad," I replied as I stepped over to the sink to wash my hands. My back was hurting a little, but not enough that I couldn't handle.

"Okay," he said, stepping over behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist, resting his hands on my stomach. The fitting clothes, I wore, definitely showed my beautiful belly. I was starting to feel the baby move a whole lot more as of late and I loved it. She always moved when she knew her daddy was wanting her attention.

I knew exactly where this was leading and spread my legs apart when Edward eased his hand down the front of my shorts. "Wanna shower with me?"

I could definitely use a shower and helped as he started pushing my shorts and panties down. He rubbed his hard cock into my ass to let me know he was horny. I was, too, so it was a given.

The moment I stepped under the spray of hot water, I felt my whole body relax. I had no worries running through my mind; only my husband standing behind me doing a reach around to cup my tits as I let the water spray my face.

I backed up a couple of steps so my face wasn't directly in the spray of the water anymore. My hands found purchase on the top of his as he lightly pinched at my nipples. They were continually sore, so he knew he needed to be extra gentle.

He kissed and sucked on my neck as he slipped his cock between my legs from the back. As he pumped his hips, I pushed my ass back to bend at the waist a little. He hadn't penetrated me; only getting me worked up as much as possible. It was working; no doubt about that.

Edward was ready, though, so he pushed at my back between my shoulder blades, hinting that he wanted me to bend over more. I reached out and took hold of the bar along the wall for leverage.

There were times where I felt like I could have sex with him all day, but we've been there done that and ended up not having sex for three days after.

I bent over just a little further, sticking my ass up enough that he could see where his cock was entering me.

I bent over just a little more, wanting more friction. He stopped his ministrations so he could get a good grip on my hips with one hand and the other went to shoulder.

That lasted a couple of minutes then he found purchase on both of my hips as he pounded into me two, three, four more times until he finally growled, squeezing my hips really hard and came.

When he pulled out, I let my body sag for a minute before I stood up. I got a little dizzy and stumbled, but he gripped of my arms to keep me from falling over and probably hurting myself.

"Damn baby; you okay? I didn't mean to make you dizzy." He held on to me for a minute before he released his hold. I knew he had to make sure I wasn't about to go face first into the wall.

"I'm good. I just stood up too fast; that's all." I turned to face him, and his beautiful face had worry written on it. I reached up and put my hand on his cheek. "I'm fine; I promise."

He gave me a tight smile. "I don't think we'll be having shower sex for a while. Especially with you bent over."

I gave his chest a small kiss then looked up at him. "I'm fine, Edward. I appreciate your worry, but I'm fine. I'd tell you if something didn't feel right."

"Okay," he relented. "Let's get washed up." He grabbed his body wash then handed over mine. After a couple of weeks of using my body wash and shampoo, he decided he needed to get his own because his co-workers teased him about using girly products. So, after he mentioned it, I bought him his own shampoo and body wash. "You feel up to a movie? I can make some of that Jiffy popcorn you got."

I had my head back with my eyes closed as I rinsed my hair when I felt a poke to my stomach. "You know, if you push any harder, I might pee on myself."

"I didn't even touch you," he defended.

I raised my head to look at him and sure enough he was closer to the other side of the shower, which was pretty good size. He had a foot propped up on his knee as he scrubbed his foot.

Then it happened again. My hand went to my stomach. "Feel this."

I was excited that her kicks were getting stronger.

Edward dropped his foot to the floor and stepped over in front of me. He put his hand on my stomach and as soon as he touched me, our baby girl kicked me pretty damn hard. "That's amazing."

We cherished the movement of our daughter for a few minutes then finally finished with our shower. I was feeling tired, but I wanted to watch a movie, too.

I wrapped my hair then slipped into my robe. Edward slipped into his and made his way to our kitchen to get the popcorn started. I wasn't putting any clothes on because I knew we'd end up naked all over, again.

I was loving married life.

* * *

 **SO? More info coming into play.**

 **Only one tonight. I have to work tomorrow.**

 **Have a great night.**

 **RTB**


	36. Chapter 36

**It is a very rainy, gloomy day in my area today. Hope everyone's day has been good.**

 **Not much else to say.**

 **This isn't a very long chapter...sorry. You'll see why.**

 **No copy right infringement intended. SM owns most characters...I own all the mistakes.**

 **2/17/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 36**

 **EPOV**

* * *

The weeks were going by faster and faster. Bella's stomach was growing, but still appeared really small.

As for Renee and her stomach, she looked like she was about to pop any day, now. I kept telling Bella that she was having twins, but she disagreed.

So we decided to make a friendly wager just between us. Bella says she only makes bets when she's absolutely sure she's gonna win. I had a feeling I'd be proving her wrong. I'm sure Alice knew, but she was keeping quiet.

Bella and I had decided to take a year off from schooling so we could give our daughter our undivided attention. She was going to take some online college courses in the fall and maybe after our year was up, she'd go back to school.

I was lucky for the most part. The freight company my dad owned, would help pay for schooling. So, when I decided to stop playing baseball, a business degree would be where I was headed. I only hoped it was the best route for the future of my family.

Bella still hadn't decided what kind of courses she wanted to take. She was just going to start with the basics and work her way up. I was behind her 100% with whatever she decided to do. She could be a stay at-home mom for all I cared. I just wanted my wife happy with whatever career she chose. She was so smart and could do anything if she set her mind to it.

Since I started my job with my dad, I had put a pretty hefty amount of money away. The only thing we really spent our money on was food, toiletries, the fuel for our cars and our insurance. Bella preferred to cook for us instead of eating with our parents most nights. I love her cooking better than most.

I slipped my parents a $300.00 a month just to help with whatever they could use the money on. We didn't have to pay rent and they haven't said anything about the electric bill. The most expensive thing in our budget is our insurance. It was so expensive because me and Bella are so young; even with our clean driving records.

When I went full-time, I was eligible for medical benefits, which I gladly accepted. Whatever benefit they had, I signed up for it. My salary was good enough for us to live comfortably. Thankfully, the pool house apartment that we lived in has two bedrooms. We could live there for as long as we wanted, but I knew, sometime in the future, we'd want a house of our own. Knowing my wife, she'd want to live in the same area of our parents.

I couldn't give you a direct description of my job title. My dad didn't give me too much responsibilities, but each week I was learning something new. I did have my own desk and computer. I learned spreadsheets that contained lots of numbers, mostly. It was all gibberish until it was explained to me. I was doing a little poking into payroll, as well.

My dad had me work with a different employee each week. He explained that he wanted me to get a feel for the company and see which area best suited me. I still hadn't latched onto anything that really struck my attention. Heck, I might even like working out in the garage on the rigs that come in for work. I'd have to Google what the salary is for a semi-truck mechanic. I know there's money in it because there wasn't a truck out there that didn't need work.

I knew I probably wouldn't go that direction, though. I've never even worked on my own vehicle. I wouldn't know the first thing about fixing a car let alone a rig. The one thing I knew for sure is that I wanted to love what I chose to do.

"Hey kid," my dad said, patting my back as he passed my desk.

"Hey dad," I said in response. "How was the meeting?"

Dad smiled at me. "Went good. We picked up two more contracts."

"That's awesome." I typed a few more things into the computer. I was adding stuff, that was handwritten, onto a spreadsheet for the virtual files that my dad and the other company executives keep on the contracts that they have. They had some big name companies that they were hauling stuff for. My dad had his own fleet of trucks, too. Some drivers are owner operators and others leased their truck through the company. Being a driver was one job I definitely don't want. I wasn't willing to spend any time away from my wife unless it was to drive across town to work.

"You and Bella have any plans for the 4th?" He sat down in the chair in front of my desk.

I shook my head. "Nothing really. We're just gonna head down to the boardwalk and watch the fireworks from there."

"Your mother wants to stay in. She says she's getting too old for stuff like that," he said, chuckling.

I raised my brows at him. "Mom old? I don't think that'll ever happen."

"You'd become your mothers favorite son if you told her that," he said jokingly.

I made a shocked expression. "Am I not already? I'm hurt."

"What are you working on?" He took a sheet of paper from my desk that I'd already entered.

"Expense reports, from what I can see," I replied, adding the last few amounts.

He read over the paper. "That's what it is. Have you found anything that you're remotely interested in? I'm hoping to put you in a permanent spot within the next month or so."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I kind of like what I'm doing now. I know there'd be more you could add to my plate."

"All right. I'll have a chat with my office manager tomorrow. We'll make the decision by Friday where we want you."

I smiled up at him. "Thanks Dad. I appreciate everything that you and mom are doing for me and Bella. I don't think we could do it without any of our parents."

"You're welcome, son. I'm proud of the man you're becoming." He stood from his seat. "Let's call it a day."

He walked toward his office to get his briefcase, phone and keys.

When I walked through the door, the wonderful smell of cooking food hit my nose and I immediately started salivating. "Bella, baby!"

"In here!" I heard her yell, then she came walking out of the room that would be the baby's room. "Dinner in ten."

She stepped back into the room, so I went in search of my wife. When I turned the corner, she was putting baby clothes into the dresser that we got over the weekend. My parents bought a whole set of Sorelle Vista Elite furniture. The crib was a convertible that grows with the baby. It was quite pricey and I wasn't sure why my parents bought such an expensive set. We're very grateful for the stuff they do for us, but to spend over $600.00 on baby bedroom furniture? I told my mother that a $100 crib would have sufficed and she just waved me off telling me that her granddaughter wasn't sleeping in something that would fall apart in six months.

"What're you doing?" I walked over to where she was picking up stacks of pink clothes. I'd never seen so much damn pink before in my life. "Does she have to have so much pink?

"Girls wear pink, Edward," she said, stuffing another stack of clothes into the back part of the dresser.

I chuckled, "I don't see any pink in our closet."

"Well, not this girl. I don't even think I own pink underwear. I just never cared to wear it." She picked up a stack of folded receiving blankets.

I heard a timer go off. "I'll go check on dinner."

"Just take it out. It should be ready," she said as I walked from the room.

My wife was amazing in everything she does and cooking was at the top of that list. Especially when I opened the oven and saw a pan full of enchiladas. They were smothered in green chili sauce, cheese and black olives. Again, I had to wipe my chin free of the saliva because my mouth was watering entirely too much.

Bella came walking into the kitchen and grabbed a few things from the fridge. She put something into the microwave and put the timer for five minutes. "What was that?"

"Spanish rice. I made it earlier today. It just needs heated up." She pulled two plates from the cabinet and brought them to the table. I finished helping by getting the silverware and grabbing two glasses to get us some tea. It was the tea that has the Vervain in it. We made sure to have at least one glass a day.

Dinner was absolutely delicious. I ate so much, I thought my stomach would explode.

We settled on the couch and watched a movie and made our way to bed as soon as the TV was turned off. The next day was July 4th and we were just having time to ourselves. Like I had told my dad, we were just heading to the boardwalk close to dark. We'd walk around for a bit then find a place to sit so we can watch the fireworks. It was our first July 4th together and our one year anniversary was coming up and I wanted to do something special. It wasn't our wedding anniversary, obviously, but the anniversary of the day she decided to be my girl.

I got home by five. Bella was already dressed and ready to go. We were getting dinner on the pier before we took our walk. We were taking our time because it was getting darker out later because of the summer season. Bella had invited Alice and Jasper, but his parents were having a small party at their place and setting off their own fireworks.

For some reason, it felt like Alice was avoiding us, but I wasn't going to bring it up to Bella. I didn't need her to go on a whirlwind of curiosity. I know she would as soon as the words left my mouth. My best guess was that Alice knew something that she was afraid she'd spill beans about. I also know that if it were very important she'd tell us.

Around eight, we finally found us a place to sit. It was down on the beach where we could look up, with a perfect view, and see the fireworks. "I need to go pee."

I chuckled at my wife. "You want me to come with you?"

"No; I'm just headed to Bruesters' to use their bathroom." She stood and dusted the sand from the back of her dress. "I'll be back in a few minutes." She bent down to kiss me before waddling off to go pee.

It got darker as I waited for her to come back. I was leaning back on my hands with my feet stretched, crossed at the ankles.

When the fireworks started, I looked at my watch, noticing that Bella was taking way too long just to walk to Bruesters' to pee. They were just two stores over from the stairs we had come down to sit in the sand.

I checked my phone and didn't have any missed calls or unread texts.

Where the hell was my wife?

I stood and made my way up the steps, looking around to see if I could see her. There were so many people around that it was impossible to get a clear shot of Bruesters' so I made my way over that way, looking all around to cover my bases.

When I walked in, I headed straight to the bathrooms. There was a woman coming out as I approached. "Hey, is there anyone else in there?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "No; sorry."

I put my hands on my hips and walked back to the front of the ice cream shop. I was starting to get really nervous.

I walked outside and looked one way then the next. Still, no sign of Bella.

My phone rang just as I was reaching for it. It was Alice. "Hello!" It was really noisy out, so I raised my voice so she could hear me.

"Edward? Is Bella with you?"

"No; I was just about to call you to see if she called you. We were sitting down on the sand, but then she had to pee, so she went to Bruesters' to use the bathroom. That was almost forty-five minutes ago."

"Oh, God, Edward. I'm calling you because Bella's not answering. I just had a vision and I was praying it wasn't true," she said. I could tell she was really close to spazzing out.

"What did you see? Jesus Christ Alice, please tell me it wasn't..."

She didn't' let me finish. "He took her, Edward."

"Who?"

"Anthony..."

I dropped my phone watching it shatter all over the walkway in front of me.

My wife was 32 weeks pregnant and some psychopath vampire took her.

* * *

 **DUN...DUN...DUN...!**

 **Who wants to strangle Anthony?**

 **RTB**


	37. Chapter 37

**You know the drill. Not much to say.**

 **No copy right infringement is intended...ETC...ETC...ETC.**

 **2/18/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 37**

 **EPOV**

* * *

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I dropped to my knees and held my head in my hands. "Oh dear God, no. This can't be happening. Please, God, No."

The area around me was starting to close in, squeezing the life out of me. I couldn't breathe; my chest was crushing my heart.

I wasn't exactly sure how long I was on my knees before someone tried to get my attention. "Edward?"

I barely heard someone speaking to me. "Edward!" I felt my hands being pulled away from my head. "You need to get up. We can't find Bella with you clamming up."

The voice I was hearing, was very familiar, but I still couldn't place who it was. They tried picking me up off the ground, but I was a dead weight. "Edward, if you don't get up, I'm gonna slap the shit out of you!"

That voice - it was starting to sound like someone I knew. "Dammit, son, now!" Then I felt the sting on my cheek.

I, hazily, looked up into the eyes of my father in-law. He was blurry due to my head still spinning. "Charlie?"

"Edward, you need to get up." He slipped his hands under my armpits and pulled me up. I was wobbly until he wrapped his arm around my waist and forced me to start walking. "We need to get to the house. Everyone's meeting us there."

My head was starting to clear as we made our way to the parking lot. I glanced over at Bella's car that still sat waiting for my wife to climb inside, but she wouldn't. A deranged prick took my wife. For what reason? I couldn't tell you until we find Bella. I'd find out every possible way to kill a vampire and I was going to do every last thing I could to torture him.

I wasn't one to think of doing evil things to people, but this person wasn't just someone - he was the one that took my wife. And I was going to be the one to kill him if my father in-law doesn't get to him first.

Charlie didn't follow any traffic laws at all; flipping on his cruiser lights to get back to the house as fast as we could. And if you're wondering, Charlie didn't drive a regular police cruiser. He drove a black, unmarked cruiser with the red and blues in the grill of the car and in the back window.

My nerves felt like they were snapping one by one. I was close to not having any left at all. I didn't know how much longer I could hold it together. I had to, though. We had to find Bella as soon as possible. She was so close to her due, and it was putting me even more on edge. I was praying to God as much as I possibly could that Anthony wasn't hurting her. Thankfully she had enough Vervain in her system and her ring. He'd probably find a way to get around the ring, but the Vervain, I wasn't so sure.

We made our way into the house. I wasn't one for drinking, but the first thing I did was go straight to my dad's liquor cabinet and poured myself hefty mouthful of my dad's Makers 46. It was his favorite and right now, he wouldn't give a shit that I was only 18 for a another week. Charlie probably wouldn't say anything, either. I just needed something a little stronger than what I was at this particular moment - I felt weak.

"Edward?" My mom entered my dad's office where he kept his liquor stash. My dad very rarely drank, but when he did, he liked the good stuff.

I gulped down my drink, savoring the burn inside my mouth and as it smoothly slid down my throat. "Yeah, Ma?"

"You shouldn't be drinking. You need to keep a clear head so we can get Bella back." She placed her hand on my shoulder. "Honey, we'll find her."

I could feel the tears stinging in the corner of my eyes. "What if we can't find her, mom? She could go into labor, right now; it's too soon." I couldn't hold the tears anymore. "We named her Arlo."

I covered my face with my hands and began sobbing, sliding down the wall of the bar. I hadn't cried like this since I was a little boy.

I felt my mother's arm snake along my shoulders while her other hand was on my head as she pulled me into her. "She has to be okay, mom. I don't know if I can live without her - without both of them."

"I know, honey. We'll find her. She'll be fine and the baby will be fine." She rubbed along my back, soothing me. My mother hadn't held onto me like this since I was a child.

I started crying harder. All sorts of visions plaguing my head with every scenario possible that could happen to my wife. The worst of all, her dying.

"We're so happy, mom. Why us? What did we do to deserve her being taken away from me?" I felt snot dribble out of my nose, but I didn't care.

"Oh, Edward. There's nothing you two did that warranted something like this. We've tried everything we could to keep Bella protected. The only thing that could have kept her completely safe, was to keep her locked up in the house." She took a deep breath. "Sweetheart, we all need to be strong, right now. We can lean on each other."

We sat there on the floor for the longest time before someone else entered the room. I heard glasses clinking together and liquid being poured. It could have been a number of people in the house. Everyone, other than my sister, would probably want a strong alcoholic drink to help calm their nerves.

"Son?" It was my dad. I sat up so I could stand. I had never seen the look on my father's face before. Everyone probably had the same expression.

Worry.

He pulled me into a tight hug and I really tried not cry anymore, but I couldn't help it. "We'll get her back. We promise you."

When I finally composed myself enough to face everyone else, we walked out and joined them in the living room. And when I say everyone, it was everyone. Marcus, Claire, Emmett - you name them in our close nit family and they were gathered around trying to get a game plan in place.

There were even two police officers present. They were standing close to Marcus and Claire, writing stuff dawn. Marcus was the one who was talking to them. A moment later, they came walking over to me.

"Edward, this is Officers Mike Oakland and Randall Schmidt. They're friends of mine and Claire's that we've known for quite some time." I reached out to shake their hands. "Yes, they're vampires."

"Nice to meet you," I said. "Please tell me there's some way you guys can find my wife. I already know he doesn't want anything from us. He just wants her, but since he came to town and found out she's pregnant, he's been trying to get her back and wanting her to abort our daughter."

They nodded letting me know that they were listening to me. "About what time was the last time you saw her?"

I had to think back to what time the fireworks started. "We were down by the boardwalk waiting to see the fireworks. They were supposed to start at nine. It was like a quarter after eight when she got up to go use the bathroom at Bruesters."

"When did you realize something wasn't right?"

I put my hand on my forehead and took a deep breath. "It was when the fireworks started and she wasn't back yet, so I went looking for her." I could feel the tears wanting to fall again, but I fought hard to keep them from falling. "My sister Alice has Foresight and when I walked outside from Bruesters, she called and informed me that she saw Anthony taking her. She was hoping she called me in time, but she was too late."

"All right, Mr. Cullen..."

I interrupted them. "You can call me Edward." Then I threw my thumb over my shoulder toward where my had was standing. "That's Mr. Cullen."

"My apologies - Edward. Marcus and Claire have our numbers. We've got some contacts around town that can do some digging. Hopefully someone, somewhere has seen something. We'll be checking all the abandoned building's around the area and we'll run a search to see if Anthony's purchased any property anywhere recently. We'll do the best we can."

I gave them a sad smile. "Thank you. I need all the help I can get to find my wife."

"We'll find her," Marcus said. "Anthony had to make a mistake somewhere."

"Let's just hope," Officer Oakland said, clapping Marcus on the back. Then he leaned forward and gave Claire a peck on the cheek. "It's good seeing you CiCi."

"You, too, Mike," Claire replied. Then she gave officer Schmidt a hug. "Randall, don't be a stranger."

"You couldn't keep me away, CiCi, now that I know you guys are living in town, now," Officer Schmidt said, giving Claire a kiss on the cheek.

I looked at Claire a little funny. "It's just a nick name they gave me years ago. There's a story behind it, but right now isn't the right time."

"When we get Bella home, I expect that story," I said, taking a sip of the drink that my father had poured me. I didn't expect it and I never thought in a million years that my dad would hand me an alcoholic beverage before I was twenty-one.

Bella would probably kick my ass right now if she knew I was drinking. I'd let her if I knew that would get her home.

I glanced over and saw Renee pacing back and forth. She had on hand at the small of her back and the other was on her very large stomach. She was due in a few days or do maybe weeks. I wasn't sure at the moment, but something told me she wouldn't last much longer with the stress of her daughter being kidnapped.

Around two in the morning, because no one could sleep, we were all still at my parents' house. Phil was rushing Renee to the hospital. I knew she wouldn't last the last week or so of her pregnancy. Phil had tried to get her to go home, but all she did was pace back and forth. I knew I was scared to death for my wife, but Renee is Bella's mother and I couldn't begin to wonder how she felt.

When they left, Phil told my dad that he'd call as soon as he had any news.

The hours ticked away. I felt useless; the worry was eating at me. There was no way I could walk into our home and my wife not be there. I couldn't look at the place; it wasn't the same without her. Thankfully, my mom rushed to the phone store and got a replacement for me just in case there was a way Bella could call me.

Around six in the morning, Alice came rushing downstairs. "I see her. She's in a dark room laying on a mattress with a blanket and a pillow. There wasn't anyone else in the room with her. She was rubbing her belly talking to the baby; she's okay."

That gave me some hope. It was a good thing he didn't have her bound and gagged.

I pulled Alice into a hug. "Thank you. Please, please, please? I know I don't ever ask you to do this, but please, if you can, force your visions. Try your hardest. We're at a dead end, right now. We don't know where else to begin."

"I promise," she agreed. "We'll find her, Edward."

My mom and Claire had been wracking their brains and even reading every book of witches that my mother had. Claire even went to her house and got what books she has. She's a pretty powerful witch and they were trying everything, from what I could understand, to try and find something until...

"I got it!" Claire exclaimed. "I have no idea why I didn't think of this first. I haven't practiced in a couple of years, but this has to do it. We can do a locator spell." She turned to me. "Edward, can you get me something that's Bella's? A hairbrush or maybe even her favorite t-shirt."

I rushed to our apartment and picked up a few things. Her brush, her night shirt she wore the night before she disappeared, and her pillow. I wasn't sure which one would do the trick, but I sure as heck hoped one of them would work.

So, for the next few hours, my mom and Claire gathered the things they needed to do the spell. My mom let Claire set everything up since she was the more experienced.

This whole time, I hadn't really noticed who was here and who wasn't. When I looked around, I knew Bella was definitely loved. My brother, Evan was here along with Emmett, whom I really hadn't had a chance to talk to one on one. He seemed like a really great guy. Although, Evan and Emmett looked pretty chummy with each other. That was a good thing.

Marcus was leaned back in a chair with his mouth hanging wide open because he had fallen asleep. Who knew vampires slept?

Jasper had come over as soon as he woke up and was trying to keep my sister occupied. They had made breakfast around eight and were now cooking up some lunch. I wasn't very hungry, but I knew I had to get some food in my stomach before I made myself sick.

By one in the afternoon, Phil had called to give us an update on Renee. She had given birth to not just one, but two babies. I KNEW IT! HA!

I couldn't wait until Bella gets home. She's gonna be so excited to meet her ... wait! "Ma, what's the sex of the babies?"

"Renee had a boy and a girl. Piper Jean and Jackson Philip."

This was gonna make Bella very happy.

Closer to dinner time, Claire said she was going to give it a try and work her magic. My dad, Marcus, Emmett, Evan, Charlie and Jacob were ready to leave the moment Claire gave them a location.

"She's in a basement," Claire said. She kept rubbing Bella's brush in her hands over the smoke that was billowing from a clay pot that was sitting on the kitchen counter. "Definitely a house."

I was getting anxious with my fingers crossed. Please let this work? Please let this work?

My dad didn't want me going because he thought I needed to be at the house just in case. Just in case, what? I had no clue, but he had a another thing coming if he thought I was staying while they went to get my wife.

"Landon and Grilliant...it's a gray house with dark blue shutters."

I went with my dad and Marcus. "Edward, I told you to stay at the house. Let us take care of this."

I shook my head vehemently. "NO! She's my wife who is pregnant with my daughter. I need to be there."

He looked at me through the rearview mirror, pondering his next words. He had to know I was right. "If it were mom, you'd wanna be there."

"You're right." Then he pulled out of the driveway with his tires squealing on the pavement. Evan and Emmett were right behind us as Charlie and Jacob rushed along with us as we sped through the streets.

The streets they were heading for were about a twenty minute drive from where we were and in true lead foot nature, my dad made that journey in about ten minutes.

We parked about four houses away to scope out the house first before we busted in.

Marcus and Emmett went first because they had the speed to get there and hopefully subdue Anthony so we could get to Bella. The house didn't look like it had a basement. Not many houses in Florida have them.

When our slow asses entered the house, it was completely empty except the empty blood bags that were lying all over the kitchen floor. We went from room to room to see if anyone was here. One of the rooms had a mattress, pillow and blanket just like Alice described, but this was definitely not a basement.

I wasn't sure where my dad and Marcus were, so I went looking for them.

Then I found the basement and the door was located off the kitchen.

I made my way down the stairs and found my dad, Marcus, Emmett and Evan standing in front of a mattress, from what I could see.

"Move," I said, pushing them out of the way. "Bella!"

When they moved, there was nothing there but the pillow and blanket that my wife had been laying on.

I dropped to the mattress. "NO! Where the hell is she?"

"I'm not sure son," my dad said. "We can't figure out how he knew we were coming."

"Do you think maybe he had someone watching us?" Emmett asked, appearing truly concerned and I knew he was.

Marcus turned to him. "We don't know, son. The more stuff that happens that concerns Anthony, makes me wonder if we ever knew him."

"Yeah, especially after he conned Emmett's girlfriend away from him. Apparently he killed her," Evan said, trying to make heads or tails of the situation.

My heart was racing and I knew if I didn't get it under control I'd have a panic attack. "Fuck this!"

I got up and made my way up the stairs to leave. I didn't want to be here a minute longer.

When we were back in my dad's car, my knees were bouncing uncontrollably and my fingernails were becoming my next meal. "I don't think he planned on staying there for very long. He didn't have any food for her there."

"I think you're right," Marcus said. "Those blood bags looked like they'd been there for a few days. It appears that he held up there before he decided to take Bella."

"I thought you guys could eat regular food?" I knew they could. I've seen all of them eat. Especially Emmett; he ate just a little more than Marcus and Claire did.

"We do," Marcus answered. "We also need blood, too, but not as often as you might think. The vampires that you do know, we've trained ourselves to go four maybe five days at the most before we need the blood. It's our only way to truly survive. It's hard to explain and I hope that one day I can."

I knew he was only trying to keep my mind off the obvious and I was welcoming the intrusion. "I'd like that."

When we got back to the house, all the women came running out probably expecting us to come back with Bella. "Where is she?"

My mom was just as anxious as I was. I pulled her into my arms, "She wasn't there."

"HOW?" Claire yelled. "That's supposed to be..."

"Claire..." Marcus was trying to get his wife's attention. "We don't know. They had been there, though. He had to know we'd try something like this. It was like he was expecting it."

"This can't be right," Claire said. "There's no other way."

If no one else could answer her, then neither could I nor anyone else.

* * *

 **I'm updating as much as I can today.**

 **RTB**


	38. Chapter 38

**Here's Anthony. Let's see what this SOB has to say.**

 **No copy right infringement intended...SM owns most characters.**

 **2/18/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 38**

 **Anthony's POV**

* * *

I couldn't let Bella have that thing that was growing inside of her. I thought I had everything under control. Since the moment I woke up as a vampire, I had one mission - to rid this world of all Warlocks and witches. They were a disgrace. I was supposed to be a Warlock, but I refused to try. My father was trying his hardest to force me, but one of those times, it all backfired.

For years I've hunted witches and Warlocks. There was one reason and one reason only that I ended up in Forks, Washington. I had gotten word that witches lived there. I found them, befriended them and even fucked one just so I could get close enough to kill her.

I knew that Lauren bitch was the one I was looking for the moment I got near her. The power that surged from her was strong and when I tried to compel her, it didn't work. Then I met Bella and my interest in her wavered. I wanted Bella more than I wanted that damn witch. Bella had the blood I craved and needed. The way she acted, she doesn't even know what she is.

When Lauren started screwing with Bella, I knew it was time to get rid of her. I'd wait a bit to get her mother and before I killed her, I'd make sure I got as much information about more witches and their whereabouts.

Once I killed Lauren, I had to take off. Bella was already upset with me and asked for time, so I left without saying goodbye. Marcus, Claire and Emmett ended up leaving, too. They went one way and I went the other. I wanted to separate myself from those people for the longest time and my opportunity finally presented itself.

I couldn't believe that for years, I didn't know that Claire was a witch. I never had a clue. I was too focused on my task at hand to even give a shit. I only found out after I came to Florida to get Bella. At this point I didn't care, but I knew if Claire has anything to do with it, she'd do everything in her power to help Bella's family find her and I couldn't let that happen.

I came up with the brilliant idea to enroll into Bella's school so I could keep an eye on her. When I was finally able to approach her, I couldn't believe what I heard the moment I approached her. There was a second heartbeat that was much faster. I knew the moment I heard it.

She was pregnant with a child that wasn't mine.

There was no way I would let her keep that thing.

The second her friend came walking into the bathroom, I knew I hit the jackpot, again, with the witches. I felt power surge from her. I learned it from my father when he was trying to teach me. It's one of the few things I remember. I refused to try anymore after the first time I was burned. I hated the act of Warlocks and witches and wanted them all dead.

I hightailed it out of the bathroom before she threw some power at me. She appeared like she was a newbie; not knowing too much, but she may know enough to zap me.

It was times like these that maybe I should have listened to my father just to learn enough to get by, but I hated the idea even thinking about it.

"You can't keep me here, Anthony. They'll find me." She was starting to get on my nerves. I wanted to slap some duct tape over her mouth, but as much as her flapping jaws was annoying me, I loved to hear her voice.

I growled and turned to her in a fury and yelled. "THEY WILL NOT!"

She cringed back into the mattress she was laying on. I had her hands and feet tied when I first got her here, but now that she knew she couldn't get away, I trusted her enough to be untied.

There was a huge possibility that they'd find a way to locate Bella using their magic bullshit, but I planned to be ten steps ahead of them. I wasn't staying in one place for too long just in case. I didn't care if they found where I had Bella, but as long as we were long gone by the time they found the location and we weren't there, they could scream and yell all they wanted. Bella's mine and they aren't getting her back.

We had been in my first hideout for almost two days when I felt the stirrings start, I felt it in my bones that they'd lock i on her, so I took Bella and went to my next hideout. Just thinking about the looks on their faces when they arrived at the house and we weren't there, was priceless. I'd love to be a fly on the wall.

Once I got Bella settled, in yet another basement where I could lock her in, I ran back to the other house so I could watch them bust in.

I had on swim trunks, flip flops, sunglasses and a hat. I looked like any other person that lived in Florida. I fucking hate this state. I couldn't wait to get Bella out of here and into Canada where I bought a house for us to live in and to eventually have our own children.

I don't know why I didn't knock her up when we were in Washington, but that wasn't my goal at the time. I made sure I always wore a condom. She also didn't know that vampires could reproduce, either. I loved compelling her, and making her do things that she thought she had control over. That included making her think I was the best thing next to sliced bread. Whatever the fuck that meant, but she was at my beck and call.

She'd start asking me questions about certain stuff and I'd compel her and make her think we were talking about something completely different. If it weren't for the compelling, I don't think she'd ever love me the way she did.

When Marcus told her the story of his life, I lied and told her that I had never used my vampire wiles on her, but only a few times. I also told her something completely different about when I was changed. Marcus and Claire never knew what I told her because we were in her house when I explained. I assume they know by now.

What she didn't know then, didn't hurt her. I'm pretty sure she knows now that I did everything she always thought I didn't.

I saw the SUV come to a sudden stop in front of the house. Then another car behind that one and another.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Marcus and Emmett were with that fuckwit that knocked up my Bella and that dog. If things worked out the way I planned, then he'd be out of the picture for good.

Blood relative or not, he was a dead man.

I made my way back to where I was keeping Bella. When I went to check on her, she was asleep. Her hand was lying across her stomach as if she was trying to protect that thing inside of her.

It wouldn't be much longer before it was out of her. I just knew it was a boy. It had to be a boy. I honestly thought I was the last of the Warlocks until I started reading up on my family history. The way my luck was going lately, it just shit on me when I read about what happens every hundred years or so. A witch could reproduce, both, a witch and a warlock.

With what I knew now, I know that Bella would have a boy and he would be a Warlock. I couldn't let that happen. I was going to get rid of any witch or Warlock that interfered with my plan.

Actually, I was getting rid of them anyway. I hated them, no matter what.

Days started slipping away. I thought they had given up until I felt it in the pit of my stomach; I had to move her again. I only had one more place to go and I knew I'd have to think quick. I knew they were trying to find us, again, so I didn't waste any time and took Bella to the last place I wanted to take her. Well, it's not that I didn't want to take her to my last hideout, it was just my last resort. I couldn't take her into Canada until she had that baby. I would leave it with her family then we were leaving, or I could give him to an unsuspecting family for good measure.

We just had six more weeks to go.

That's what I thought until two weeks after I took Bella. She started screaming in pain. I thought she was just trying to get my attention, but during a moment where she was screaming at me, I witnessed the mattress below her become really wet. When she started telling me 'No, No, No', I knew something wasn't right. She was about to have that baby and I knew nothing about helping a woman give birth. I sat and watched her writhe in pain. I felt bad for her; I do love her and I didn't want her in pain, but it'd all be over soon and we could move on with our lives away from the people who took her from me.

"You have to help me. I can't give birth down here!" She clutched at her stomach and all I could do is watch her. I was in a complete daze and not thinking straight.

I knew I didn't have much longer before I had to come up with a even quicker plan.

* * *

 **Anthony really is a crazy MoFo!**

 **RTB**


	39. Chapter 39

**2/18/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 39**

 **EPOV**

* * *

I had barely eaten or showered since the night Bella was taken. I'd drink myself to sleep and start all over again the next day when I woke up. The person I had become wasn't me. Bella wouldn't stand for it if she knew how I was being. Charlie even threatened to take me out back and beat my ass if I didn't straighten my act up.

I couldn't bare it, though. I kept wondering what was happening with my wife. Over and over, my mom and Claire had tried that damned locater spell and came up with nothing. It was hopeless.

My wife was gone and I'd never see her again or our daughter.

Evan even tried to get me to get my head clear. He shoved me against the side of the house when he found me out there smoking a cigarette. Yes, I had taken up smoking because my dad finally locked his liquor cabinet to keep me out of it.

Emmett on the other hand, felt my pain and bought a few bottles for me and put them in my apartment. There were a few nights I had drank myself to sleep and went to the main house the next day like nothing had ever happened. I didn't want to give up hope, but the days were passing and I knew Bella was closer and closer to her due date. She'd give birth without me there and just thinking about it was eating me alive.

That all changed one day when I was yanked up out of my bed and punched in my face. "Get your drunk fuckin' ass up out of this damn bed. This is the last time I'll allow you to do this to my daughter."

Charlie had me by the collar of my shirt and was shaking me awake. I couldn't see straight and the pain radiating through my face was nothing compared to what my heart was feeling. "Leave me alone," I slurred to him.

I felt a hard slap to my face which made me see stars in a blurry matter. "Get your Goddamned ass in the shower and sober up. This is your last chance, Edward before I beat your ass until you can't walk."

"I don't care. Just kill me." I couldn't hold myself up. I was stumbling all over the place even with the hold my father in-law had on me.

A second later I was being dragged into the bathroom and thrown into the shower with ice cold water raining down on me. I couldn't help the shock to my system, but all I did was curl up in a ball on the shower floor and cry my eyes out.

"Charlie," I heard my sister of all people. "Can you give us a few minutes, please?"

I felt a kick to my ass before he left the bathroom. "Talk some damn sense into this boy before I hang him up by his damn toes."

"I'll try," I heard her say. "He's hurting, so I don't know how much I can do."

"Just do it. I don't even wanna look at him anymore."

I heard the bathroom door slam as he left my sister alone with me. "Edward?" She shut the water off and tried to lift me up off the floor. "You need to get up. I have some coffee for you in the kitchen. You need to sober up because mom and Claire are gonna try again, tonight. They think they've come up with a different way to do the locater spell. They figured that Anthony is somehow sensing them trying to locate Bella."

"It won't work; nothing's worked, Alice. Bella's gone. He took them from me. I'll never watch Arlo grow up."

This time, Alice put every bit of force behind her slap against my face. "Get the fuck up, Edward. It's gonna work this time. If you're not sober, you won't get to go with them to get your wife back."

I gave her a deadly stare. "Don't hit me, again," I growled at her. "How can you promise me that they'll find her?"

"She okay, Edward. I've seen her a couple of times just lying there rubbing her belly." I stood up and tried to pull my shirt off, but it was so wet that my drunk ass could barely get it off, so my sister, of all people, helped undress me down to my boxers. "Here. I brought some dry clothes in for you. Get changed and come into the kitchen. You can sober up here so Charlie doesn't beat the shit out of you anymore." Then she reached up and touched a spot on my face. "He hit you pretty good. You might need stitches."

I looked up at the mirror and noticed blood running from a cut by my eyebrow. "Fuck," I whispered as I touched my bloodied lip that all of a sudden started hurting like a son-of-a-bitch. "I can't believe he did this to me."

"I can, so hurry and get dressed. They want to try the locater thing again within the next hour or so."

I looked at my sister and I couldn't help the tears that started pouring down my face. "Am I ever gonna see my wife again? Please tell me you've seen it."

Alice pulled me into a hug. "Yes. It's all gonna work out."

"You're not just saying that are you?"

"No Now get dressed before I send another man in here to beat your ass."

"Jasper?" I chuckled. "He wouldn't hit me."

"Try me." I heard from the doorway. "I'm not passed knocking the shit out of you, brother because you're acting like a spoiled brat and they need your help in there."

I felt worthless and looked down at the floor. "I know; I just can't stop thinking about never seeing Bella or the baby ever again."

"You will, bro. Just get your head back on straight then we'll go get her. I got a good feeling about this. She'll be home before we know it."

"I hope so."

They left the bathroom and let me dress in peace. I cleaned my face up and put a few steri strips over my cut eyebrow. They'd have to work until my mom or Claire could look at it to make sure if I needed stitches or not.

I still couldn't believe my father in-law knocked the shit out of me.

Once I was done, I went to the kitchen where my sister had a steaming cup of coffee waiting for me. She also made some food to help sober my ass up.

"Thank you," I told her. "Am I allowed to go outside and smoke?"

"Go," she told me, "But the second you pick up a bottle of liquor, I'll unleash Charlie back on you, or all the men for that matter."

"I really have been a dick, haven't I?"

She gave me that look that gave me the answer I didn't want.

"I'm sorry."

"Just straighten up your act. We'll get her home, Edward. Like Jasper said, we have a good feeling she'll be home before we know it. Shit's blocking my visions or I just haven't learned how to use them right, so that's why I haven't seen anything."

I nodded at her and grabbed my cigarettes from the counter and headed outside. I sat at the patio table and pulled the ashtray that my mom had put out for me a few days before. She was about to kick my ass for throwing the butts in the rocks by the pool.

I owed everyone a huge apology.

My dad and Charlie came walking out and joined me at the table. "Charlie got you good, son."

"Don't remind me," I said as I took a drag off my smoke.

"I'll do it again if I have to," Charlie said as he reached over and took my pack of smokes from me and shook one out. When he lit it, I looked at him funny. "What? You're the only one allowed to be a drunken idiot and smoke, too?"

I shook my head. "Never said I was."

"Son, you're not helping anyone by being a douche," my dad tells me and I looked at him funny. "Yeah, I called you a douche because that's exactly what you're acting like. Your mom and Claire have been doing everything they possibly can to find Bella. We've found two more houses that could be where he has her. We're gonna try again as soon as you get your head on straight and join us at the house."

"I'm sorry." I started to cry. All my manliness was gone and I didn't give a rats ass if anyone saw me cry. My wife was gone.

"Listen son, you need to be strong for Bella and the baby. You have to get your head clear before she comes home. You can't be like this. We're all hoping this shit will over tonight." My dad, who never smoked a day in his life, took my cigarettes and lit one for himself. "We're all torn up over this. We all feel responsible for it happening. How do you think Jacob feels? He was just down the beach when he took her."

I looked up at him. "I didn't know."

"You didn't give anyone a second to tell you what was going on. You've turned into something I've always hoped I'd never have to witness."

"I'm sorry," I said. "I owe everyone an apology."

"You do," Charlie says then stumps out his cigarette. "Is your head clear now?"

I nodded then took another drag of my smoke before putting it out. I continued to sit at the table and drink my coffee and watched the shimmer of light go across the pool from where the sun was going down. All I could see was Bella floating around on one of those water noodles as I swam back and forth from one end to the next.

I wasn't sure how long we sat there until my mom came out and asked us to come inside with her. I went back to my apartment first and grabbed my shoes and a t-shirt to put on.

It wasn't long before the doorbell rang and when my dad answered it, there stood the two police officers that were friends of Marcus and Claire. "We know where he is. There was a snatch and grab at a blood bank last night and one of our lookouts followed him. He called us about thirty minutes ago to let us know that he hasn't left the house all day."

"Why didn't he call you last night?" I got my shoes on as fast as I could and yanked on my shirt.

"He wanted to make sure that he wasn't gonna leave, and he hasn't. He said he heard some yelling and stuff being thrown around on the inside of the house where he's keeping her."

It wasn't long before everyone was in there cars and following the two officers to where I was going to get my wife back. No one stayed behind. Everyone that was in the house found a car to pile into and we were on our way.

My heart was racing a mile a minute.

Thirty minutes later we were parked down the street from a house that was in a new subdivision. No one had moved into it yet, so there wasn't anyone around to see what was about to happen.

The officers had their weapons drawn, but I had my only weapon next to me...Jacob who had phased before we all jumped into our cars and took off. He was salivating at the mouth to get his teeth around Anthony's neck.

As soon as the front door was kicked in, we heard screaming coming from one of the rooms. It was downstairs in the basement, of all places. Everyone stopped for a moment to listen for more screaming before they knew where to go.

When I heard my wife scream one more time, I was gone like a bat out of hell with Jacob on my heels.

Jacob took Anthony by the neck and pulled him off to the side so I could get to Bella. She was screaming in pain and I could see that the mattress below her was soaked. That's when I knew her water had broken.

"I'm here, baby. I'm here."

"Edward. Oh, God, it hurts."

"I know, baby. Mom and Claire are here."

I moved out of the way so Claire could get a good look at Bella and assess what was happening. That's when Marcus dropped to his knees next to her and started placing his hands on her stomach. "She's ready now."

I just sat back and held Bella's hand as they got her shorts off so Marcus could check to see how progressed she was. "She's ready to push."

Mom came rushing in with a bunch of clean towels and handed Claire surgical gloves to put on as well. When I looked up I could see that Marcus already had some on.

Mom and Claire started getting the area prepped the best they could by putting clean towels under Bella's butt the best they could. My wife was nearly breaking every finger on my hand, but I didn't care because I finally had her back.

"All right, Bella, when I say push, I want you to push like you're having the biggest shit of your life." Marcus draped a huge towel over Bella's stomach, but I could still see everything that was going on.

When my wife started to bare down to push our daughter out, I held my breath with her as she pushed. She screamed to high heaven after my mom was done counting to ten. "Oh, God. This hurts. This hurts. It's burning."

"I know, baby. Arlo's almost here."

"Okay, Bella, on your next contraction. Ready...One...Two...Three."

We were all counting now to help with the process. "I see some dark hair down here."

Bella couldn't help the laugh that came out of her. "Stop worrying about my crotch hair!" She yelled.

Marcus laughed with everyone else. "I'm talking about the baby's head, dingbat."

Bella shook with laughter then contorted into pain. "One...Two...Three."

We all counted as my wife bore down for the third time. I looked around for a split second and noticed Charlie, my dad and Alice were hovering nearby. I assumed everyone else was upstairs waiting on us.

"We have a head out. Hold on Bella while I suction her nose." That's when I heard a growl and looked to the other side of the room and saw that Jacob was still holding Anthony by the throat. I knew he wanted to snap his head off, but he was told not to puncture his skin; just hold him down.

I kissed Bella's forehead. "You ready, baby?"

"Yes, yes..." She breathed heavily.

"Okay, Bella. One last big push and we'll have us a little one here."

The counting started again and luckily it only lasted to six and our daughter finally entered the world. After half a minute, we heard the first cry of our daughter.

At that very moment, paramedics came stumbling down the stairs with their bags and a gurney. Thankfully there were plenty of hefty men in the house to carry the thing back up with my wife and daughter attached to it.

I wasn't sure what happened to Jacob and Anthony, but when we were cleared to leave, they weren't where I last saw them and I really didn't care.

* * *

 **We have baby Arlo!**

 **RTB**


	40. Chapter 40

**2/18/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 40**

 **BPOV**

* * *

I had been having pains in my lower back and the lower stomach area for most of the day. I passed it off for gas and the fact I hadn't eaten as much as I've wanted to over the last two weeks. Anthony made sure I ate something at least three times a day, but it wasn't a full course meal. He mainly just gave me a sandwich or a bowl of soup.

Who knew what he was doing. I was alone most of the time until he wanted to come downstairs and scream at me. I honestly thought he lost his freakin mind.

He told me over and over again that as soon as the baby was born, I might as well kiss him goodbye because that was the last time I would ever see him.

I wasn't exactly sure why he kept referring to my daughter as a boy, so I never corrected him. And if I had anything to do with decisions, he'd be the one who was gone and not my daughter.

He kept telling me that we'd have a great life together once Edward was out of the picture. There was a house already waiting for us so we could start our own family. His plan was to keep me pregnant and cursed himself for not knocking me up when he was with me over a year ago.

I ignored most of the shit he spewed at me. There was no way on this earth I would be with him nor have a baby with him. I prayed and prayed that something was being done to find me. After he moved me a few times to different houses, I knew something was happening because he would get so irate; screaming at me, telling me it was all my fault I got involved with the wrong type of people.

To me, it was just more bullshit coming out of his mouth.

When my water broke, I knew the pains I was having were labor pains. Anthony didn't believe me until he saw how wet the mattress was beneath me. Then the yelling started, again.

An hour or so after my pains had started, Anthony just stood above me and watched as I writhed in pain. He'd shake his head at me, pace the room and do it all over again.

I had screamed at him to get me help, but he snickered and walked away, taking his path he had previously taken. He kept telling me he didn't care if the baby lived or died; I wouldn't be raising him.

I screamed more, and louder as the pain got more intense.

He finally stopped above me again, watching as I clutched my stomach each time it tightened, causing me severe pain.

Just as he opened his mouth to say something, the door at the top of the stairs burst open. I could tell it was multiple pairs of feet making their way down to where we were and at that moment, another pain ripped through me.

Anthony was gone the next second. I saw a flash of fur and some deep growling. That was the moment I knew Jacob was here. He was the only wolf I knew, and I was finally being saved.

Claire, Esme and Marcus were there in a second to help me. I knew Claire was a nurse, but I wasn't sure if Esme had any medical background, but having three children herself, she would definitely be a help to me. After all, her granddaughter was about to be born right in front of her.

I wasn't sure what they did with Anthony after I was taken away in the ambulance and I really didn't care. Someone would tell me, eventually.

What surprised me most of all was my mom and Phil walking into my hospital room with two infant carriers. I hadn't felt so over the moon about anything in my life until the most recent events.

My marriage to Edward for one; my pregnancy; my mom's pregnancy and now the birth of our babies. I couldn't get the smile off my face if I tried. Even the fact that Edward won the bet that we made with each other made me smile; he was right and I was wrong. Too bad he'd have to wait until we got home to get his prize.

It was finally going home day for me and Arlo. I thanked the heavens that she was as healthy as a full term baby. Being six weeks early, all of us, even the doctors assumed she'd have to stay in the NICU for at least a month. Thankfully, the Fae blood that I shared with her and the fact that her father is also a Warlock, she was strong as ever. I told Edward it was just the Fae that boosted her immune system.

He begged to differ.

It was a Sunday and all I wanted to do was take my daughter home. Edward had barely put her down long enough since the room was cleared of all our family.

We now considered Marcus, Claire and Emmett as such. I couldn't ask for a better extended family and now that everything was out in the open, it was even better. We didn't have to whisper amongst ourselves about certain things.

I was still trying to get it through my head that my mother is a Fae princess. She hadn't used any of her magic; still afraid it would lead to her being found. She knew she needed to come out of hiding and take her rightful place as the princess. Well, actually, she's considered the Queen now that my grandparents are no longer with us. I barely remember them because they were killed when I was still so young.

All of that is another story and I still needed to get used to my husband being a Warlock. Now, that was something that really needed some getting used to. One thing I do know is, the Fae in me and him being a Warlock is what causes the humming while we have sex. And from what I'm understanding, the first time we had sex, it triggered his magic to start brewing inside of him. It was all confusing, but also informant.

He was leaving all that up to his mother. Marcus and Claire were currently searching for a friend of theirs that is also a Warlock, to spend an undetermined amount of time to teach my husband to bring all his powers to the surface. He didn't have to think too long on the idea of learning to conjure up a potion for a stomach ache, headache, etc.

I still couldn't believe all of this stuff was real. My mom said, even with me only being half Fae, I should have powers myself. I wasn't sure how much her powers and a Warlocks powers differed from each other, but to me, magic was magic. Who knew, maybe they were one in the same, but went by different titles.

My mom didn't have pointy ears like I imagined a Fairy having. Her ears looked perfectly normal and it never crossed my mind until now to even ask her. I've seen how they create Fae in the movies, but then again, it really is only the movies.

"All set," Edward said as he buckled the last strap of Arlo's car seat. She was fast asleep, looking entirely too small for her seat. Her Auntie Alice had come by the night before and brought her the outfit to be worn home. Of course it was completely pink.

I kissed Edward on the cheek. "I can't wait to get home so I can sleep in my own bed."

"I can't wait for us to get home so we can sleep in our own bed," he said in reply.

Edward had told me all about what went through his head the entire time I was gone. He said he couldn't sleep in our bed; it hurt him too much to sleep there without me. My heart broke just thinking about how bad his heart broke. If it was as bad as mine, then I knew exactly how he felt.

He couldn't stop looking at me and our daughter. It was like a dream come true for him. He was completely over the moon.

Carlisle and Esme stepped through the door. "Ready kiddos?"

They were taking us home because Edward had ridden to the hospital with me in the ambulance. "We're all set," I said as I slid a stuffed diaper bag over my shoulder before I realized I had to sit in a wheelchair to leave the hospital. It was policy.

Even though Edward told me it was about a thirty minute drive home, it still took us about an hour drive ahead of us. The house Anthony was holding me in was close to the border of South Carolina. I still didn't know where he was and I really didn't care. I just wanted him out of my life for good. I wanted to be with my family; like he never existed.

The drive home was peaceful. Arlo slept the whole way tucked between me and her daddy in her car seat. She looked so peaceful and oh so tiny.

When we arrived home, Alice had put together a welcome home get together. All that were in the know were in attendance. I was so happy that nothing could bring me down anymore.

Alice made her way over to me after we had consumed enough food to feed an army. Arlo was asleep in her basinet that her grandmother had set up in the living room for her. My new brother and sister were right next to her in their carriers, asleep, also. I couldn't take my eyes off of them.

"I missed you so much," she said, laying her head on my shoulder. "I felt useless when I couldn't help. The more I tried to see you, it was all just a blur. I saw you a few times and was only able to tell Edward that you were okay."

I took Alice's hand in mine. "Alice, please don't blame yourself for not being able to help any more than you could. Anthony's a whole lot more clever than what we gave him credit for."

"Yeah, as much as he hates witches and magic, he sure used it enough to keep you away from us," she replied. "Thankfully, he only knew a few things."

I kept hearing his words over and over in my head, telling me that I'd never see my baby nor Edward, ever again. It crushed my heart, but I knew it wasn't real because I was at home with my family. "He wanted to take Arlo away from me. He didn't care if she lived or died, and he didn't know that Arlo was a girl. He kept calling her a boy."

I felt her nod her head. "He thought you were going to give birth to another Warlock baby. That's why he wanted Arlo gone so badly."

"Alice, I don't understand. If he thought I was having a boy that would be a Warlock, then why would he want to have a baby with me and chance the same thing?"

"Who knew what he was thinking. We honestly think he lost his mind and really didn't know what he was doing. He was probably making stuff up as he went along. Marcus and Claire say he's a sociopath."

I shook my head. "I don't care what he is; he nearly kept me from my family forever, Alice. He wanted to kill Edward and our daughter. He said if Arlo was born alive, he'd drop her off with my parents before he killed Edward so they could raise her."

She squeezed my hand. "He didn't. That's all that counts. Thankfully it didn't get that far; it'll never get that far." She raised her head. "You know Edward wants to torture him, right?"

I chuckled, "I don't doubt it, but I really can't see your brother hurting a fly let alone inflicting torture to a deranged lunatic."

"Bella, Edward wasn't himself when you were gone. He started drinking and he barely slept. When Anthony took you, it changed him. I have never seen my brother that way. He wasn't himself." She patted my hand. "You're home now, so hopefully he'll go back to the Edward we know and love."

I took a deep breath. "I was only gone for a few weeks, Alice. How much can that really change someone?"

I didn't notice Jasper walk up. "Bella," he said, sitting down on the other side of me. "If it were Alice that was taken, I'd move heaven and earth to find her. When a part of you is ripped away without any warning, it makes you become something that you can't control. At least at first." He gave me a small smile. "You're that part of Edward that was ripped away; the part that makes him the best person he is."

"Thanks, Jasper. We've barely talked. Even while he's in the room with me, I still feel like I'm alone sometimes, you know?" I felt a tear roll down my cheek and I wiped it away as fast as it fell. "I don't want him to think I wanted this to happen."

"No, no, no, no." Alice turned toward me. "Please don't think that. Just give him a little time. You know he loves you more than anything, and now Arlo's here and maybe he's just taking in all the excitement of being a new dad?"

I felt a little sadness roll through me for my husband and I knew this was all still fresh, so hopefully within a day or so, I'd have him back; hopefully I'd have me back, as well.

I hugged my best friend and then her boyfriend. "Thanks for the talk. I think I'm just feeling a little down on myself."

I glanced up and noticed Edward looking over at us, so I gave him a sad smile only to have him turn away and go back to talking to Emmett. That made my heart ache and I wanted nothing but to run from the room and cry my eyes out.

Two hours later, I was getting ready to take my daughter home to sleep in her cradle next to our bed. Esme said she and Carlisle had set up her nursery after they left the hospital because they wanted their granddaughters room to be ready for her. They purchased a cradle to keep her with us until she was big enough to sleep in her crib.

Just as I was bending down to lift her from the bassinet, a hand shot out in front of me. "I can get her."

I looked up into the eyes of my husband. Without a word, I nodded once and backed away to pick up her diaper bag. I then made my way over to my mom, dad and Phil to tell them and everyone else goodnight. I kissed my brother and sister on their cheeks and started for the back door that Edward had just walked through with Arlo.

I knew the tension could be felt. It was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

We were quiet when we entered the pool house apartment. It almost felt odd walking into a place I hadn't been in just over a few weeks. It was my home, but it also felt like I was an intruder. "I'll lay her down," Edward said. "If you wanna shower, go ahead and I'll listen for her."

I nodded and made my way into our bedroom right behind him as he laid our daughter into her bassinet. I wanted to cry, but I held back my tears until I gathered my things and made my way into the bathroom where I felt my stomach drop to my feet. I wasn't feeling wanted from him.

I turned the shower on and stripped, stepping into a steaming hot shower. It relaxed me until I couldn't contain my tears anymore. They started falling and I couldn't control the sob that fell from my throat.

I was on the floor of the shower the next minute; my arms wrapping around my knees. My sobs were quieted by the falling water, but I still tried to hide them. I didn't want Edward to hear me.

I sat there and cried for not being able to fight Anthony away; I cried for my daughter that had to be born in a basement; I cried for my husband who was avoiding me like the plague and most of all, I cried for myself for feeling like my husband didn't want me anymore.

Then my mother came into my head. I cried more thinking that I wasn't there when she went into labor. That made my heart hurt a little more because I knew that Anthony taking me was what caused my mom to go into labor. She was only a couple of weeks early and thankfully, Piper and Jackson were born with no complications. I knew Phil was beside himself with his new little family. I only wished my dad would find someone to love just as much as my mom and Phil love each other or as much as me and Edward...

I had to stop that thought. I knew I still love Edward with everything that I am and I only hoped he still feels the same for me. The neglect I was feeling from him was making me think otherwise.

The water kept pelting my skin, turning it red because it was so hot. I wasn't sure how long I had been in there until I heard a tap on the door and then it opened. "Bella?"

It was Edward. "Yeah," I answered, sniffling and wiping away the snot and tears.

"Arlo's waking up. She'll wanna eat." He sounded a little clipped.

"Give me five minutes, please?" I heard the door shut without another word. I don't know what I did to make him treat me this way, but it was breaking my heart.

I hurriedly scrubbed my body and washed my hair. I was still a little sore around my lady bits, but I knew that pain would go away. Luckily, when I was getting dressed, I noticed that my mother in-law had supplied me with enough pads to last a week or two. I love that woman like she was my own mother.

When I walked into our room, Arlo wasn't in her bassinet, but I could hear her crying from the living room. As I rounded the corner, I could see Edward walking around the room with her, whispering to her and shushing her. She'd quiet a little but went right back to crying.

He noticed me standing near the couch and walked over to slip her into my arms. As I started to say something, "Thank..."

"I'm gonna go shower," he said, kissing Arlo on the forehead then retreating from the room.

My heart sank. He was definitely avoiding me.

I decided to give my daughter my undivided attention, so I checked her diaper before getting comfortable on the couch so I could breastfeed her.

She nursed for a good thirty minutes. I expected Edward to come back out to the living room after his shower, but he never came. After forty-five minutes of nursing Arlo, I made my way into the bedroom.

Edward was fast asleep with his back turned to my side of the bed causing another small crack to start in my heart.

Arlo was fast asleep as I laid her on her side to sleep.

I kicked my slippers off and climbed into bed. The ceiling and I had a staring contest, but neither of us were winning. I could hear Edwards light snores as he slept next to me, but I felt the same as I did earlier - alone.

A few minutes later, which turned out to be nearly two hours later, I woke to Arlo's light cries. I could hear Edward talking to her. "Daddy loves you, Angel." My heart melted hearing him say that to her. "I never knew I could love someone so much." I could only hope that meant he still loved me, too.

Edward must have heard me sit up. "Do you need a minute before you feed her?"

I nodded. "Yes, thank you."

I made my way into the bathroom and did my business. Afterward, I made my way into the living room where Edward had wondered off with Arlo. "I could have fed her in the room."

"I thought you'd want to nurse her out here," he said, stepping over to place our daughter into my arms. He kissed her head. "Just yell if you need me."

He started walking off. "Edward?"

I heard him take in a deep breath just as he reached the door to our room and stopped. "Yes?"

"Did I do something wrong?" I could feel a knot forming in my throat; a sign of tears threatening to spill.

"No," he replied, placing his hand on the door frame. "Just..." he started. "I'm going back to bed. Let me know if you need anything."

The tears fell on their own accord. I couldn't stop them and I couldn't tell you why my husband was pushing me away.

* * *

 **What do you think is going on with Edward?**

 **RTB**


	41. Chapter 41

*****WARNING! Sexual Content. If you can't handle sexy times between these two, you might wanna skip this chapter.*****

 **No copy right infringement intended. SM owns most characters. I own the mistakes.**

 **2/18/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 41**

 **EPOV**

* * *

I was helping Bella with Arlo as much as I could. When I came home from work, I'd give her some free time to shower and take a nap if she felt like she needed one.

As far as giving her attention, I was finding it hard to give her much at all because I felt like I had let her down by not protecting her from Anthony. She needed me to be there for her and I wasn't. She's still my entire world, but I was having a hard time coping with the fact that she was taken right out from underneath me.

I should have walked with her to the bathroom; I should have looked harder for her; I should have done a lot of things and that's why I didn't feel worthy enough of her. She'd finally realize that I'm not what she wanted in her life. She needed someone that could protect her at all costs.

The days at the office were flying by faster than what I wanted them to. They still had Anthony under lock and key, waiting for me to decide what to do with him. I could care less if they let Jacob bite him or rip his head off and just end it all, but on the other hand, I wanted to put him through so much pain; I wanted to show him what it felt like to lose the most important thing in his life.

I didn't know how to make it all better; I didn't know how I could show my wife how much she really and truly means to me. Her and Arlo are my everything and I was feeling useless.

When she asked me if she'd done anything wrong, so many things went through my mind that I wanted to say, but the words stuck in my throat. My quick retreat was the only answer I could give her. I hated doing this to her. I hoped she knew I still loved her with my whole heart. All I wanted to do was get a bottle of whatever I could get my hands on just so I could go off and sulk in my sorrows somewhere.

I didn't let her see me smoke, but she knew I was smoking because she smelled it on me when I came home. When she asked me about it, all I did was tell her was,"Yeah, and I know it's bad for me, but what isn't now these days," and left it at that. She hasn't said anything about it since.

"Son?" My dad came to sit in the chair in front of my desk. I was staring at the screen where all the numbers were running together.

I snapped out of it and looked over at him. "What's up?"

"What's wrong with you?" He propped his ankle on his opposite knee placing his hand on his bent one. "You're not acting like yourself. You haven't been the same since Bella and Arlo came home from the hospital."

I didn't want to burden him with my problems. He's my father and he's always been there for me, but this was an issue I had to take care of on my own. "I'm fine," I said, tapping the tip of my pen on the notepad that lay in front of me.

"No you're not." He reached out and gave the office door a little push so it would close. "You need to tell me so I can help you."

I took in a deep breath. "I'm fine, dad. Just some stuff going on in my head. I'll get over it."

"It's been over a month, Edward and it's tearing Bella to pieces. She thinks you don't want this life anymore," he explained.

My eyes snapped up to his. "What? There's nothing more in this world I want than her and Arlo."

"Something's bothering you. You can tell me and maybe I can help you figure out how to fix it," he said sincerely. His eyes bore into mine as I tried to come up with an answer for him.

I rolled my neck, the tension sending a headache up over the top of my head, so I decided to relent. "I couldn't stop him from taking her." His brows rose, encouraging me to go on. "I'm not the husband Bella needs because I couldn't save her from him."

"Let me ask you this. Is Bella dead?"

I looked at him like he said the most ridiculous words. "What the hell kind of question is that?"

"Just answer the question, dammit," he huffed, dropping his foot down to the floor and propping his elbows on the top of his knees.

I sighed, "No, she's not dead."

"Okay, did you have any idea that Anthony was going to take Bella?" It was the same exact question I asked myself every day and it still didn't change the way I was feeling about myself.

He saw that I wasn't going to answer. "Edward, there was no way you could have known that Anthony was going to take her. You did everything you possibly could to get her back. You lost track there for a bit, but you snapped out of it. There wasn't anything out of your control, son. Bella's fine; she's home with your daughter."

"Yeah, my daughter that she had to give birth to on a dirty mattress because I didn't walk to the bathroom with her and some lunatic took her because he felt she needed to be with him instead of me." I knew I wasn't done, so I stood from my chair and walked to the window to look out toward the darkening sky. There was a storm coming and hopefully I could get home before it hit. "He wanted my daughter dead and me dead so he could take my wife away from her home that we built together."

Dad stood and came to where I was ranting and put his hand on my shoulder. "Stop. You can't do this to yourself. You're hurting Bella by pushing her away. She thinks she's done something to make you hate her."

I felt a tear escape and leave a trail along my cheek. "I could never hate her. She's the mother of my child; the love of my life."

"You need to prove that to her, Edward. You have to stop pushing her away." He placed his hands on my shoulders and turned me to face him. "Look at me, please?" I turned my teary eyes toward his. "To Bella, you're the only man that exists in her heart. You need to pull yourself together and prove to your wife that you still love her and want her."

Two weeks later, I still didn't have the balls to get near my wife. I still helped her as much as I could. I even got up with Arlo a couple of times a night to let Bella sleep more. She tried, more than once, to get me to talk, but I froze. I'd kiss her cheek, which was a step up from what I was doing, and walked away from her.

Bella had been pumping enough breast milk that when I got up with Arlo during the night, I could feed her without having to wake Bella.

I had just placed a bottle in the boiling water to warm the breast milk when I felt eyes on me. I turned to see her standing at the entrance of the kitchen. "You don't need to be up."

"I know and I appreciate that." She crossed her arms over her chest and watched what I was doing. "I can't sleep."

"Oh yeah?" I tested the milk on my wrist to make sure it wasn't too hot. It was just right, so I started to walk from the kitchen, but Bella caught me by my arm.

"We need to talk," she said, "And I'm not waiting anymore. As soon as Arlo goes back to sleep, we will be sitting on that couch until something is worked out."

My heart did a little dip because I wasn't sure I was ready to talk. She was completely adamant about our eventual conversation.

I gave her a small head nod and went to our daughter. I changed her diaper and sat with her, rocking her as she ate the five ounces she was now consuming. It took a good thirty minutes before she finally dozed back into her tiny little baby sleep. She didn't move a muscle as I laid her down. She was finally sleeping in her crib and waking, at the most, three times a night.

Procrastination became my best friend at the moment. I sat back into the rocker and watched my daughter as she slept. What was I supposed to say to her mother? How was I going to explain to her the way I've been feeling since the moment I realized she was missing? I wasn't sure she'd understand and I think that was the main reason I was avoiding the inevitable.

About ten minutes after I put Arlo in her crib, I felt Bella's presence. "You're avoiding me."

I wanted to cry and I probably would.

I continued rocking until my wife came to stand in front of me. She knelt down so she could see my face that was lowered. "Edward, please come into the living room and talk to me? I need you."

When she said she needed me, my heart leapt at her words. "You need me?"

Bella took my hand and urged me to stand and I followed. I felt like a stranger in my own home.

When we sat on the couch, she made sure we were facing each other. "You have to talk to me, Edward. Something's not right. I've done something that's pushed you away from me. I feel like I'm the only one in our marriage, anymore."

I couldn't hold the tears in as I looked at my wife. I could see the hurt etched along her beautiful face. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I couldn't protect you."

"Is that what's been pushing you away from me? You think you didn't protect me?" Her voice held so much hurt that it killed me to hear it fall from her mouth. "Edward, it wasn't your fault. There's no way you could have known he was going to take me. He didn't hurt me. I'm not hurt from anything he did. I'm hurt because my husband hasn't touched me, kissed me or showed any kind of affection toward me since we walked through that door with our daughter. I'm hurt because my husband has pushed me away for some unknown reason and won't let me help him. I'm hurt because I miss my husband so much that it hurts; it's killing me, Edward. I need you. I need to know that you still love me and want to be with me."

"I feel useless to you," I said, tears freely falling. I could feel them leaving a trail over my lips.

Before I knew what was happening, Bella was in my lap with her legs straddling me. Her mouth was on mine as she wrapped her arms around my head. "I love you, Edward. I want my husband back. I want you to be the man I married."

I nuzzled my nose into the crease of her neck and shoulder. The sob that came from my throat echoed through the room. "What if I can't be what you need? Anthony proved that I'm weak."

Bella sighed. "Please stop. You're being ridiculous. Anthony was a fluke. He's never going to get to us ever, again. You're everything I need and more." She pushed my head back only to place her hands on my face. "You are my heart and soul. I need you, Edward in every way possible, right now. I miss you so much. I miss your touch." She took my hand and placed it over one of her breasts. "I want you so bad that I'm aching."

I felt my cock twitch when she moved her hips, so I took it upon myself and reached up to cup her other breast. They were heavy with the food for our daughter. Her night shirt was a button up; easy to open so she could breastfeed Arlo.

Bella leaned her head down and captured my mouth with hers. "I need you," she said between kisses. "I want you so bad." She rotated her hips over my cock, causing it to jump from the friction. "I got the go ahead from the doctor four days ago."

My hands eased up her shirt, pushing it up so I could see her chest. "So beautiful," I whispered before I leaned forward to take a nipple between my lips. I tasted the breast milk that leaked out as I ran my tongue over her nipple. It didn't taste so bad, but that was food for our daughter, so as much as I wanted to suck the hell out of her tits, I didn't. I licked over her peak and made my way across her chest to her other nipple. They were so damn hard that they were like little pebbles under my tongue.

"Let's take this to the bed," she suggested as she moved to leave my lap.

As soon as she was up, there was no way I was letting her out of my sight, so I grabbed her around the waist from behind and pushed her into the wall. "I can't wait for the bedroom."

I started pushing her sleep shorts down. Mine were next, but I needed to make sure she was ready before I shoved my cock inside of her.

I slipped my hand between her legs and found what I've wanted for the last two months. "You're so damn wet."

I pushed two fingers inside of her and pumped them a few times. "You want my cock, baby?"

"Yes," she whimpered. "Please, Edward. I want you so bad."

I pulled my fingers from her wet pussy and snaked my arm around her waist, raising her hips just enough to angle her just the right way. I could smell her wetness and it only made me harder.

She cried out as soon as my dick was completely sheathed inside of her. She was so damn tight that I knew I wouldn't last long. I was going to cum too soon if I didn't control myself.

I pounded into her from behind, making her scream with pleasure. I wasn't so quiet myself as I grunted and groaned at how well she fit around me. "I'm gonna cum. Do I need to pull out?"

"You better not," she replied and that was all the answer I needed.

The harder I drove into her, the tighter my balls drew up. "Fuck! I love you!"

"I love you, too," she said between each pound into her hot pussy. "Cum, Edward. Cum, I'm ready."

I slammed into her as hard as I could about five more times before my cum shot from my body and into hers. "I missed this so much."

Bella leaned her head against the wall, breathing heavily. "I missed this, too."

I put her feet back on the floor trying my hardest not to slip out of her. I kept my arm around her only to ease it up her body and around her neck. I pulled her head back so I could take her lips with mine. "I'm not done with you."

For the rest of the night, I savored my wife like she was the air keeping me alive. We made love and fucked hard. It was finally time to give into sleep when Arlo woke for the third time that night. I was so damn tired, but it was worth every minute that I got to feel my wife's pussy wrapped around my dick. Thankfully it was the weekend, so we decided we were going stay in and be just us for a day with our daughter.

We deserved it.

* * *

 **Make up sex is always good. Isn't it?**

 **RTB**


	42. Chapter 42

******WARNING! Sexual Content******

 **2/18/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 42**

 **BPOV**

* * *

"That feel good, baby?" Edward asked as he pushed inside of me. I was laying, face down, on our bed as Edward had my legs pushed open with his knees and drove into me.

I raised my ass each time he pumped, trying to get more friction. We haven't been able to keep our hands to ourselves since the night I forced him to talk to me. If I hadn't been put on the pill, I was positive I'd be pregnant, again, considering how much we'd been going at it.

Images of humping rabbits came to mind.

"Yes!" I grunted. "More!" My clit was throbbing, wanting attention. I could feel Edwards balls slap against it, but it wasn't pushing the ache away.

I slid my hand down between my legs and scissored my fingers around Edwards cock as he moved it in and out of me.

I squeezed my fingers together causing Edward to growl at me. "That feels so damn good." I was so damn wet that I could feel my juices coating my fingers.

Edward started pounding harder and I could feel the pressure building, so I moved my hand down just enough to reach my clit. As soon as I pushed my finger into it, I felt a jolt making my pussy contract. "Whatever you're doing, do it again," he huffed out. "Fuck, that feels good."

I started with small circles with a little pressure, making my pussy clench more. The heat started building, so I pushed my ass further up knowing I was about to cum. I didn't need to tell Edward; I was sure he already felt his cock being squeezed as my release built.

A moment later, it hit me like a bolt of lightning. My breath caught, my body tensed and BOOM my whole pussy started pulsing around Edwards dick. He growled as his release hit him.

There's never a better feeling.

He plopped down over the top of me and slid from between my legs. "Happy birthday, baby." Edwards birthday had come and gone while I was with Anthony. He said it wasn't worth celebrating and wanted to forget it even happened because I wasn't there. My husband was a 19 year old who says he feels forty on most days.

My morning birthday sex was the best present I could ask for. "Thank you. Do I get more later?"

Edward chuckled. "You don't even need to ask."

We were so out of breath that we could barely hear Arlo alert us that she was ready to be up and fed.

When I rose up to go clean myself, I noticed two wet spots on the sheets from where Arlo's breakfast leaked out. I was sure there was plenty more where that came from.

As I cleaned up, Edward went to get Arlo from her crib. She was just over two months old now. Her aunt and uncle were just three weeks older than her and they already knew when they were around each other. Me and my mom would put them on the floor together for tummy time. Arlo was still so small compared to Piper and Jackson. They were little chubby balls of excitement.

Mom was still breastfeeding, but also trying, very slowly, to make the transition into formula because she'd be going back to work soon. Phil tried to get her to stay home for the first year of their life, but she wants to see how it all works out. She didn't have to work at all, but she liked to keep herself busy.

My online college classes would be starting in a few weeks. Everything was finally getting back to normal. Well, except the fact that Anthony still hadn't been dealt with.

The two vampire police officers had him in an undisclosed location. They promised that there was no way he could get free. I wasn't sure if they were waiting on me or Edward to make the decision as to what to do with him.

My dad, on the other hand, knew where he was. I'd seen him whispering stuff to my husband, but when I asked him about it, he just shrugged his shoulders and told me it was guy stuff. I'd find out eventually; I was sure of it.

With my birthday falling on a weekday, and my early morning birthday romp, I was wide awake and ready for the day. Edward was in the kitchen while I had Arlo connected to my tit. I was walking around making sure Edward had everything for his work day. He wasn't much of a coffee drinker like me, so I just made sure his bag was ready and waiting by the door.

I stood there for a minute because any moment he would come around the corner and yell for me. "Bell..." He stopped in his tracks when he noticed me. "There you are."

"I've been here the whole time. Some habits are too hard to break." He did the same thing every morning. Even the mornings he wasn't really talking to me. I still got a kiss on the cheek when he left the house. I wanted more, but I didn't want to push for it at the time.

He leaned down and placed a kiss on our daughters head. "One of these days, you're gonna have to give those back to daddy."

He was talking about my tits. "Jealous?"

"Yes," he gave me a small kiss. "That sounds horrible, but they're my favorite part about you."

I raised my brows at him. "So my..."

He put his finger over my lips. "Don't say it. As soon as you say it, we're back in the room and I'll be late for work."

"Puthee..." I mumbled under his finger making him growl at me. He really wasn't a pussy and I didn't call him that often after the way he felt when I was kidnapped.

As soon as he moved his finger, "Just tell me you love me and you can go to work. I'll take advantage of you later."

"I love you, but it's your 18th birthday. Doesn't your mom have some big dinner planned like she did last year?" He nuzzled my neck. "You smell like sex."

"Probably," I replied.

Arlo grunted because her daddy was invading her feeding space. "Sorry, Angel," he said, kissing her forehead. "I love you." Then he kissed me one last time. "And I love you. Try not to get into too much trouble today while I slave away in front of a computer adding and subtracting numbers all day."

I giggled. "How much trouble could I get into with an infant who's continually latched to my tit?"

He reached up and pinched my unoccupied nipple. "Now you're gonna leak."

Before I could protest, he was out the door. "I LOVE YOU!" He waved over his shoulder as he went through the gate and out to the driveway where our vehicles were parked.

I'm so happy that he's over whatever drama was eating him alive. Over the last couple of weeks since we had our talk, he's zoned out a couple of times, but it doesn't last long.

Later that evening, we made our way over to my mother's where she had a huge dinner arranged for my birthday. It was also the anniversary of the first time Edward and I felt the vibrating and humming around us. It still does it and it's usually louder the rougher we are with sex. I'd get my present later after Arlo goes down for the night.

"Happy birthday, baby girl," my dad said, kissing the side of my head. "Where's that granddaughter of mine?"

I looked around to see where Edward went with her. That's when I noticed Emmett making googly faces at her. "You might have to fight Emmett for her."

"That kid has another thing coming if he thinks he's gonna hog my granddaughter," he said, giving me a tight squeeze before heading toward Emmett.

"Dad, don't forget, Emmett's about fifty years older than you, so calling him a kid is moot." It didn't matter though, Emmett still has his eighteen year old features and the looks of a male runway model.

I heard one of the twins let out a little squeal, so I made my way over to see what my little brother and sister were up to. Claire was bouncing Piper while Marcus was blowing raspberries on Jacksons tummy. He was the one with the high pitched lungs.

Mom was placing stuff on the table while Phil helped. They looked a little tired, but I guess having twins would do that to a person.

At just over two and a half months old, Piper and Jackson were already starting to babble and smile. They were so happy with anyone that paid attention to them.

Just before we sat down to eat, Evan, Alice and Jasper made their appearance. Evan, believe it or not, looked like the happiest man alive. Next to him was a tall beauty that I wasn't aware he had met. "Who's your friend?" I asked, reaching out to shake her hand. "I'm Evan's sister in-law, Bella."

"I'm Meredith. It's nice to meet you." She had a good, sturdy hand shake. It wasn't so girly that I couldn't feel her hand in mine.

Evan kissed my cheek. "Sorry, sis. You beat me to it. Happy birthday."

"Thank you." I waved my hand toward the empty seats next to Alice and Jasper. "Have a seat. We were just getting ready to eat."

Alice was sitting in the chair next to me. She leaned over and wrapped me in a one armed hug. "Happy Birthday, sister."

"Thank you. Why're you getting here late?" I glanced at her as I put some delicious looking asparagus on my plate. I was absolutely starving.

She wiggled her eyebrows at me. "We kind of got caught up in some...well, you know."

I shook my head. "You keep it up and you'll be the next one pregnant."

She didn't say anything and I wasn't about to insinuate otherwise. She'd tell me if something like that happens.

The food was excellent and the company was even better. We laughed and got really engrossed in stories that Marcus told us from years way back. It was a complete history lesson without having to be in school.

Esme held Arlo as we finished up our food. She was starting to get a bit cranky, so I excused myself to head upstairs to my old room and nurse her. Alice followed suit and joined me.

"Does that hurt?" She watched as Arlo latched on right away and went to town.

"I'm used to it now. At first, I thought my nipples were gonna fall off, but now it just feels like tugging as she sucks."

Alice gave me a small smile as she watched her niece eat. "Alice?"

She jerked her head up at me, breaking her eyes away from Arlo. "Yeah?"

"Everything okay?"

She nodded her head vigorously. "Yeah, why wouldn't it be?"

"I don't know. You're acting a little strange." I switched Arlo over to my other nipple so she'd get her fill.

She knitted her brows together. "Strange how?"

I gave her a stupid is as stupid does look. "Do you really want me to start naming stuff off?"

She released a huge sigh. "I think I'm pregnant."

I choked on air. "You're what!?"

"I don't know for sure yet. Me and Jasper are going to the drug store after we leave here." She reached over and pushed Arlo's hair away from her forehead. "She's still so tiny."

"Don't change the subject. Is this an accident or something you planned?" She shrugged her shoulders. "Alice?"

"Jasper said he wanted to have kids with me one time when we were talking about our futures and I've sort of missed a few of my pills." She wouldn't take her eyes off of Arlo or make eye contact with me. "Jasper said he'd be happy either way."

"If you are, what's gonna happen? Are you two planning on getting married?"

She stood from the bed and paced away from me. "Look at you talking to me like you're some old married woman or my mother."

"No, Alice, I'm your best friend who's already been through what you might be going through. I want to help you any way I can. I'm not lecturing you; it's not my place."

"What if I want this? What if I did it on purpose?" She was standing by the balcony and looking out over the neighborhood.

I was surprised at her words. "What are you telling me? I barely see you anymore and now that I've seen you, you're telling me this." I shook my head. "This is big news, Allie."

She sat back down next to me. Arlo popped her mouth off of my nipple to crane her neck to look at her aunt. "It's just auntie."

"The truth?" I nodded, "Okay. With all the stuff that happened with Anthony I was starting to feel like life was too short to wait for stuff to happen and I already know that Jasper's my future. He's the one I'll be with for the rest of my life and who knows how long that'll be. I mean, anything can happen tomorrow. Just like with you and my brother. You were taken; he didn't know if he'd ever see you again. Then when I couldn't force myself to see where you were, it started hitting me like a ton of bricks that I wanted to start my life with Jasper now."

I laid Arlo down on the bed for a second so I could pull Alice into a hug. "But a baby? You could get married then start your family."

"I don't think my parents will agree to us getting married right now. They'll probably want me to wait. I'm eighteen and can marry him whenever I want, but I want their approval. With a baby, I know they'll be okay with us getting married so quickly."

My heart sank a little, but I wouldn't let her know that I didn't agree. I wanted her happy, but I didn't think she should do it this way. My pregnancy was a complete accident and she was doing it on purpose.

I placed my hands on her cheeks. "I love you, Allie. I just want you happy and I can see that Jasper does that for you. If this is what you want, then I'll support you."

"You know I love him more than anything and I feel like I need this. I feel like I need to make my family complete now." She pulled me into another hug. "Please don't think I'm doing this just for the attention. That has nothing to do with it." She pulled back from our embrace. "I promise, I have enough attention. I just want this really bad. I think this will make my life where it should be and complete."

I felt a tear slip over my cheek. "I'm happy and sad for you. I'm sad because I wish you'd wait, but that makes me a hypocrite and I'm so happy for you that it makes me want to run through the house and announce it for you. If you're pregnant, our babies are gonna be so close to each other."

Alice and I finished up with our conversation. There was no way I could tell Edward. But honestly, the moment we get home, I'm sure I'll be spilling the beans. I don't like keeping things from him.

Mom and Phil were feeding the twins when we came back downstairs. Edward took Arlo so I could start cleaning up the table. "Don't you dare," Claire said. "It's your birthday. Let me take care of this."

I pulled her into a hug. "Thank you. You're the best."

Emmett joined Claire in cleaning up, so I decided to go and have a seat by my dad who was sitting with Marcus in the living room. They stopped talking as soon as I sat down "What're you two old men talking about?"

"Who are you calling old?" Marcus asked. "You're the one who's eighteen today."

"And you're saying eighteen's old?" I asked, raising my brows at him. I turned to look at my dad. "Well?"

He put his hand up, "That's between you two; I already know I'm old."

I shook my head and decided I needed to change the subject. "So dad," I gave him a devious smile. "You dating anyone?"

He let out a deep chuckle. "That would be a big fat no."

"Why not? I mean, you're a handsome, strapping young man. What woman wouldn't want to date you?"

Marcus eased into the conversation, "Hey, I've got a friend I can set you up with."

My dad looked at him like he had two heads. "First off, how old is your friend and does she have a need to drink blood?"

"No, dummy. She's one of the nurses at the hospital. She's been looking for good man that won't take advantage of her like every other man she's been remotely interested in. She's very pretty, too." He gave my dad a pointed look. "You tell Claire I told you she was pretty, and I'll deny every word of it."

"Come on, dad. At least think about it. What would it hurt?" I patted his knee. "Who knows, maybe you two will hit it off and get hitched; maybe pop out a couple of babies like everyone else seems to be doing lately."

He gave me a dry chuckle. "I wouldn't take it that far."

"Yes, you need to take it that far." I turned to look at Marcus. "Tell him, Marc. He needs a good woman to come home to; one that'll have dinner on the table when he comes home from work."

"Hold on a sec. Let me make that decision on my own. I need to find out what Jacob plans on doing first." He let out a deep sigh. "I have a feeling, I've got myself a permanent house guest."

"Jacob can't be that bad," I said. "Plus, he helps you at your job, doesn't he?"

Dad rolled his eyes. "If you wanna call it help. He practically solves the damn things before I can even look over all the clues."

I raised my brows. "And that's a bad thing?"

"Not really. It's just that, I'd like to do my job the normal way, is all."

I gave my dad a wistful smile. "Dad, since when do you keep your mouth shut about stuff? Just tell him."

Our conversation trailed off, so I went in search of my husband who was engrossed in, what seemed like, a serious conversation with Jasper. I didn't want to interrupt, but I was ready to head home.

I walked up to them and Edward draped his arm over my shoulders. "You ready to head home?"

"Sure thing," he kissed my temple then reached his hand out to Jasper. "Give me a call if you need to talk. Hell, even just to hang out sometime." They shook hands that turned into a one armed man hug.

Jasper patted Edwards back when they pulled away from each other. "You got it brother."

We snatched Arlo away from Emmett who had been hogging her and the twins most of the evening. If I wouldn't know any different, I'd say he loves babies. Maybe he'll find someone soon that'll be glad to give him as many babies as he wanted, and the same for my dad. He isn't too old to have a new baby in his life. He's only a couple of years older than my mom.

I felt pretty tired by the time we got home, so I nursed Arlo one more time after I bathed her. Emmett must've tired her out because she only ate for about ten minutes before she completely passed out.

Edward was lying in bed when I walked into our room. He had a book propped up in front of his face. It was "Kama Sutra for 21st Century Lovers".

"Are you finding our sex life lacking?" I kicked my slippers off then pulled off my clothes before going into the bathroom and switching the shower on.

I heard the blankets shuffling around then Edward appeared in the doorway of the bathroom. "No, not lacking per se, just seeing if there's something we can experiment with."

"I think you've had me in just about every position I can think of. I wasn't real fond of the one where my feet were behind my head. I think I focused more on the muscles pulling in my thighs more than I was anything else." I put my toothbrush in my mouth and started brushing just as he walked up behind me.

As I brushed, I watched him in the mirror. He was kissing along my naked shoulders and down my back. Each of my ass cheeks were given a little nip before he slipped a hand between my legs. "I've barely touched you and you're drenched."

His fingers eased inside me with no problem at all. The man just had to look at me and I'd gush.

I spread my legs open just a little as he watched himself as he fucked me with his fingers. When I was done brushing my teeth, I spread my legs a little more as I bent over the bathroom sink; popping my ass up in the air.

Edward nuzzled his face between my legs and shoved his tongue up inside of me. He would lick from my clit and travel the whole length of my crack to the base of my back. I wasn't a huge fan of him using his tongue on my asshole, but he liked it so I let him. Some of the best sex we've had was with ass play. I honestly thought I wouldn't like it.

I felt him push a finger, if not two inside of me, again as he stood up. I could see the huge tent in front of his sleep pants. I loved being married to this man.

He kissed along my shoulders, leaving trails of his saliva in his wake. He gave my neck some attention, as well. I was sure there was a new hickey ready to come to the surface, but I stopped caring a long time ago. We were married and what we did behind closed doors was our business.

A moment later, I was being lifted off the floor by his arm that was snaked around my waist. He cock was buried deep inside of me the next. He fucked me hard as he held me just above the floor. My hands were getting sore from gripping onto the edge of the sink. I was aching to turn around and suck on his cock.

He must've read my mind because my feet touched the floor before he pulled out. I turned around and when he went to lift me onto the counter, I denied him. "Wait, I wanna do something first."

I dropped to my knees and took his slick cock into my hand and pumped him a few times before sticking my tongue out and licking the head. Edward groaned and as I looked up at him, his head was tilted back with his eyes closed. "Watch me."

His body moved as he raised his head and looked down as I took him in my mouth. He'd go in a far as the back of my throat before I pulled my head back. I knew I'd gag, but I also loved sucking on his cock.

I decided I wanted him to fuck my mouth. My hands released the hold on his cock and eased around where I grasped his ass, pulling him, urging him to start fucking my face.

He took the hint, placed his hand on the back of my head, gripped my hair and started pumping. I think he was afraid he'd hurt me, so he didn't go too fast.

I saw his balls start to draw up, so I reached down between my legs to play with my clit. He must've noticed because he pulled out of my mouth, lifted me up onto the bathroom counter and slammed into me. "I wanna cum in that hot pussy of yours."

He had such a dirty mouth and I loved every word he said to me.

I propped my feet on the edge of the sink and watched as he fucked me. I could see how stretched I was from where he entered me. I've only been with two men and he was, by far, the best lover.

My clit started with that all too familiar feeling that leads to the best orgasms I ever had. I stuck my finger into my mouth before I eased my hand down and started rubbing circles around my clit. Edward had his hands on my knees pushing my legs as far apart as he could. The faster I rubbed, the faster he thrusted into me.

As soon as he reached up to pull my face to his and planted his mouth on mine, he shoved inside of me and stilled as he came. We kissed each other hard as we enjoyed our release. "Fuck, I love you," he said breathlessly.

"I love you, too," I replied as he pulled back and watched as he slipped his cock out. I could see where some of his cum was still attached to the head of his cock. He took his dick in his hand and rubbed the head up and down my slit, smearing ever last drop all over me. It was only making me horny, again.

The longer he rubbed over my clit, I watched with undivided attention. It was so erotic to watch. "You keep doing that and you'll have to service me in the shower, too."

He wiggled his eyebrows at me. "Promises, promises."

"You know better than to think that. I always put out for you. Even when I'm on my period." And that was true. I've only had one period since Arlo was born and that was just recently, so we took a few showers too many over a two day span of sexing each other up. He told me, from now on, not to be surprised if he wanted sex every day and even on my period. He'd just have to take me in the shower. I wasn't arguing, but I did need to get some sleep sometime and so did he.

After the shower, we ended up having sex one more time before we both passed out. Arlo didn't wake up until four in the morning, surprising me and Edward. Once she was changed and nursed, she went right back to sleep.

Then I remembered what Alice had told me, but I'd save it for another day.

* * *

 **Oh, Alice. Really?**

 **RTB**


	43. Chapter 43

**2/18/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 43**

 **EPOV**

* * *

Do you have any idea what it's like for me to look at my wife the way she looks now?

I didn't think you would, but let me tell you. I can't walk into a room without popping wood because her post pregnancy body is the sexiest I've ever seen. Don't get me wrong, she was sexy as hell when we first got together, but now with just a little bit of baby weight still on her...GAH! I can't stop thinking about how beautiful she is.

It was so hard to concentrate about anything else. Marcus had contacted a friend of his to help me work on my magic, but I haven't had one bit of interest in it. Bella feels the same way about her Fae magic. She could care less about being able to use it or not.

We wanted to concentrate more on raising our daughter. Although, I might want to learn something just so I could use it on Anthony's useless existence.

As much as I wanted to beat the life out of him or whatever his reality is, I'm not exactly sure I could inflict any kind of pain to anyone, but the more I think about what he's done to our lives, I want to rip every fingernail and toenail out. I want to cut his fingers off one by one; then his eyelids. There were endless things I wanted to do to him, but I honestly didn't think I could do it.

I wouldn't know until I was given the opportunity. Charlie keeps asking me if I'm ready, but I wasn't. He told me there was no rush at all, so I went to work and came home like I did every day to my beautiful wife and my precious daughter.

Bella had been strange, though, for the last couple of days. I wasn't going to push her to tell me; I knew she'd come to me when she was ready.

We were relaxing and watching a movie. It was a Saturday night and we just wanted it to be us. My parents and even Bella's parents, invited us over for dinner, but we declined.

She was popping some popcorn while I set up the movie. Arlo was perched on my lap while I clicked a few buttons on the remote control. She was starting to move her arms around and notice that she has hands.

I laid the remote down and took her tiny fingers in mine. She has her mother's hands which were beautiful. Any part of her is beautiful.

"You wanna watch a movie with mommy and daddy?" She gave my finger a squeeze and her leg a kick.

A minute later, I heard Bella's phone ring. I knew it was my sister because her ringtone was _'Abracadabra from the Steve Miller Band'._ I really wasn't trying to listen to what she was saying, but I was.

"It'll all work out; I just know it will," I heard her say. "Alice, just listen to me...No, I haven't said anything; I'm trying my hardest not to. You know I don't keep secrets from your brother."

My brows rose. What kind of secret did my sister have that Bella knew? After Arlo goes to sleep, I'll give her the look and I know she'll cave and tell me.

"Just...is Jasper happy?" She was quiet for a second. "Yeah, that's good to hear. Well, all you have to do is..." Alice must've cut her off because she stopped talking. "No, that's entirely up to you. If I was able to get through it, then I know you can."

Arlo let out a little whine, so I didn't hear the rest of what they were saying because her little whine turned into a hungry cry.

Bella must've heard her because she was off the phone and making her way into the living room.

She traded the popcorn for Arlo. Her tit was out a second later with our daughter sucking at her like she hadn't eaten in days. I watched for a minute and next thing I know, my dick was getting hard. I wanted to be the one who was sucking on my wife's tit and the thought ran straight through my body.

I turned my attention to the television and watched the previews. She suckered me into watching **_"P.S. I love you."_**

We normally watched action and science fiction. Occasionally we'd watch a chick flick and tonight was one of those nights.

The movie was about to start and Bella switched Arlo to her other side. Arlo's little toes were digging into my arm. It was tiny little nudges and I loved every second of it. "Want me to pause it until she's done?"

"Please; she's almost done." Bella pulled her diaper away from her butt to check to see if she needed to be changed before she got up and made her way into the nursery. She was a complete natural at this parenting thing. "Just give me a few minutes. She'll be asleep as soon as I start rocking her."

Bella was right. About ten minutes later, she came walking out. She switched her shirt with a tank top. Her nipples were sticking out and my dick started reacting, again.

I raised my arm, inviting her to lean against me and once she was settled, I pushed play on the movie.

I don't know about you, but not many men will admit to crying over a movie, and I'm not going to admit shit. Well, maybe I should because this damn movie had me boo-hooing like a freakin baby. All I could think about was me and Bella and that situation happening to us.

"I can't believe you made me watch that," I said, wiping my nose with the back of my hand. "What kind of human being are you? That's torture."

Bella was giggling, reaching up and pushing my hair away from my forehead. "I'm sorry, sweetheart." She kissed my cheek and climbed into my lap. "My manly man was letting his feminine side show."

She lowered her head and licked across my lips. "You want me to make it all better?"

And boy did she make me feel better. She rode me on the couch then bent over the coffee table. After that, I had her up against the wall.

We went well into the night. As soon as I was up and ready to go, she was a willing participant.

Then just as I started drifting off to sleep, she started talking. "I kinda have something to tell you, but you CAN NOT say a word to anyone."

I rolled over and looked at her. I didn't need to give her the look after all. I just needed to sex her up nice and good to get her talking.

"I'm all ears. And I won't say anything." I gave my balls an adjustment after sitting up and leaning against our headboard. Bella followed suit, slipping her tank top on so I wouldn't have any distractions.

"So, the other night at my birthday dinner?" I nodded my head to let her know I was listening. "Alice told me something that I think might make you a little mad."

I rolled my eyes. "Just tell me."

She took a deep breath. "Alice is pregnant."

My heart stopped for a split second, then I remembered my conversation with Jasper. "So that's what Jasper was beating around the bush about telling me?"

"He talked to you about this?"

I shook my head. "Not exactly that."

"What then?" I noticed as she pulled the blankets up a little because the room was a little bit chilly.

"He wondered what it was like to have a baby; if they were a handful; if Arlo kept us up all night. Just stuff like that. I just thought he was being curious." She turned her head toward me so I asked, "When did she find out?"

"They went to get a test the other night." Sighing deeply, she continued. "She planned all this, Edward. She wanted this to happen."

I gave her a funny look. "Why the hell would she do something like that on purpose?"

"From what she told me, when she had no luck getting visions of where I was when Anthony took me, she said life was too short to wait for a family. She saw how it affected you because to her, you kept thinking you'd never see me again; you thought you lost me for good."

What she said was all true and I couldn't help the sad smile that creeped across my face. "Yeah, but that's different from all this. You were taken away from me. Thank God some nark we don't know, found you." She leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Sometimes I don't understand my sister."

"I understood it as she told me. She didn't want to wait for the marriage, the babies and all that family stuff. She wants it now while she's still young." I felt her scoot a little closer. "She felt as if your parents wouldn't agree to her and Jasper getting married right now considering she still has her senior year of school to go through. She said they could get married first then kids, but getting pregnant was the only way they could get married right away."

"You do realize that none of what you just told me makes any sense. That doesn't sound like Alice at all. She's the one with the straight head on her shoulders." I scooted down in the bed and got comfortable. "When's she plan on telling our parents?"

"I don't know. I told her I'd help her if she needed me. She knows her and Jasper are meant to be, so that's why she's pushing for all this, right now." She moved closer and draped her leg over mine. She only had a tank top on and I could feel her bare pussy up against my leg. I loved it when she slept nude because it was a lot easier for me to slip right in whenever I felt like it. I knew when she was on her period, too because she'd wear panties to bed.

I reached down and wrapped my hand behind her knee and pulled it up closer to my cock which in turn, pressed her pussy completely against my leg.

She moved her hand down slowly over my stomach and just as she reached my belly button, she grazed the head of my cock. It was hard as a rock and twitched when she grazed it, again. I knew she meant to taunt me, but I didn't care. If my wife was trying to seduce me, I was all for it.

I gave her leg another tug, pulling her up so she was straddling me. I couldn't resist her tits, so I reached up giving them a small squeeze, raising my hips for any kind of friction.

I had her tank top off a second later pulling her forward so I could take advantage of her breasts. I didn't suck on them too much; mostly licking and small nips across her nipples.

She reached back, aligning my cock with her entrance and sank down ever so slowly. It was home to me to be so far up inside of her.

She rocked her hips agonizingly slow at first. That was until I needed more. She knew so she raised her knees with her feet planted on the bed and leaned back, taking ahold of my shins.

I started meeting her thrust for thrust, my hands wrapped around her upper thighs helping as she moved up and down on my cock. I loved looking at her naked body. Especially the extra ten pounds or so she has around her hips. She was so damn sexy.

She watched me slip my hand between her legs. I did the same as she did the other night where she scissored her fingers and felt where I was entering her. Her tits were bouncing the faster I went as she rode me.

We moved with each other as if we couldn't get enough.

"Sweet mother of..." I squeezed her hips to hold her still as I emptied myself inside of her. "Fuck, I love you." That didn't last as long as I wanted it to. She could have me hard again, in a matter of minutes if she was still up to more.

"I love you, too," she replied, as I rocked her hips to ride out both of our releases. She leaned forward, pressing her chest against mine. "I think I'll be able to sleep now."

She scooted off of me with her head still on my chest. "As much as I love my sister, and don't agree with the way she went about things, I won't say anything; this is all on her."

"And we'll be there for her if she needs any help, right?" She twirled her fingers in what little bit of chest hair I have. "She may be your sister, but she's my best friend."

I was playing with her hair as we laid there talking. "Of course," I said. "I just hope she knows what she's doing."

We eventually drifted off to sleep only to be screamed awake from our daughter. I was wiped out, so I changed Arlo and brought her in our room for Bella to breastfeed her in the bed with us. All Bella had to do was roll over and stick her nipple in her mouth. I just hoped it didn't become a habit. I didn't want Arlo in our bed every night.

Monday morning dawned and when my alarm went off, I rolled over to find my wife and daughter no longer in bed with me.

I went to take a shower before heading off to work. I didn't want to go to work smelling like sex. Although, the smell of her on my skin was enticing enough that I'd love to smell her all day.

When I finally made it to work, there were four files for me to start off with. I had to send messages to the drivers as reminders that it was time for their trucks to get oil changes and ect. We kept hard copies and the same info was entered into the computer.

I had a very easy job. My dad may be the owner, but he was still my boss. There was never a thought in my mind to ever take advantage of him and think I could get away with stuff. I took order very well. After all, my dad had informed me that eventually, I'd be taking over the company once he decided to retire.

That was not for a long while. He still wanted me to get my business degree considering I made a choice to quit my baseball career. The job I have now made it able for me to be home every night. Ever since I stopped playing baseball, I tried to see if I regretted it. The more I thought about it, I didn't feel one bit of remorse. I was happy; very happy with everything the way it is.

"Edward?" My dad called to me, waving me over to his office. My desk was just outside his door.

I closed the first file that I had just completed, and finished with the email I had sent to the first driver then headed into his office. "What's up?"

I took a seat in one of the two chairs in front of his desk. "I need you to contact Henry Oliver and let him know that as soon as he drops his load, he can come back to the shop. He'll finally be getting his new truck."

"We have new rigs?" I didn't know how many trucks my dad has on his fleet, and I also didn't know he was getting any new ones. The more he bought, the better discount he got from the dealership. He liked to keep all his trucks in working order and replaced trucks after they reached a certain mileage. Only a few of the drivers own their own trucks.

Dad handed me a picture of the truck that would be given to Henry Oliver. It looked freshly painted with the company colors of black and red. _Cullen Freight_ was painted on each door with all the required business numbers. It was a beautiful Peterbilt that I was sure Henry was going to love driving. He'd been with the company since the day my dad opened the business more than twenty years prior.

"He's gonna love it," I said, handing the picture back.

We were silent for a few minutes until dad motioned for me to shut the office door. "Have you decided what you want to do with Anthony? We've kept him under lock and key to give you time to decide."

I shook my head. "I really don't know. Is there such thing as Vampire jail?"

Dad chuckled. "You'd have to ask Marcus about that one."

"I prefer to never see him, again, but I know this is something that has to be done." I raised my wrist to look at my watch. "Maybe I could do something about Anthony today. "

"You let me know and we'll head over there." He sat up in his seat from leaning back in his chair. "You're gonna talk to Bella about his, aren't you?"

I raised my brows at him like that was the stupidest question he ever asked me. "She's my wife, dad. Of course I'm gonna talk to her about it. I think she has some say in this considering she's the one he kidnapped right off the street."

He nodded. "Okay. That's understandable. What if she wants to let him go? Maybe make a deal with him to leave the country and never show his face around here, again?"

"No. That's not gonna happen." I took a deep breath. "He needs to be gone."

I finished my work for the day and headed home right at five. As soon as I walked in the door, I could smell something delicious. My mouth watered as I made my way into the kitchen.

Bella had Arlo in her bouncer seat sitting on the counter as she kept an eye on our dinner. "There's my girls."

"Look Arlo, daddy's home." Arlo's legs started moving up and down like she was trying to run. Her eyes were starting to lighten up from the dark gray/blue color they were when she was a newborn.

I snaked my arm around Bella and pulled her over to me. She raised her face and puckered her lips, ready for her kiss. Then, my daughter got my undivided attention so Bella could finish our dinner.

"What's on the menu?" I unbuckled the safety belt on the bouncer and lifted Arlo out. I raised her in the air above my head and made weird noises to try and get her to smile. She's tried; the corner of her mouth moving like she was about to crack the biggest smile ever.

That was a mistake. A glob of baby spit dripped down and landed right on my chin. "That's disgusting."

"What?" Bella asked, turning from the stove to see what was happening.

"Our daughter decided she wanted to share some of her drool with me." I wiped at my chin with the sleeve of my shirt. "That's so gross."

Bella shook her head. "It's just spit. It's not like she was licking the floor and decided she wanted to kiss her daddy."

I stuck my tongue out at my wife. "Fine. You can let her drool all over you as much as you want."

"Edward, she does it all day. She just started drooling profusely a couple of days ago. Didn't you notice?" She wiped Arlo's face with a cloth diaper that we used as a burp cloth.

I blew a raspberry on Arlo's cheek. "No. Is that normal?"

"All babies do it. Get with the program, mister." Bella gave my ass a nice firm swat before turning around and paying attention to the food on the stove. "And to answer your question, we're having barbecue chicken with some veggies and rice pilaf."

"Sounds like we'll be blowing ass later." I blew on Arlo's cheek, again. "Mommy's gonna stink daddy out of the bedroom tonight."

Bella made a sound as if she couldn't believe what I just said. "Excuse me; you're the one that likes to cover my head when you shit your pants. What is it you call it? A Dutch oven?"

I laughed at my wife. "It's funny, Arlo. Daddy likes to pick on mommy, but she gets me back. We're really and truly in love. You wanna know how I know?" I knew she couldn't answer me, but she kept looking at my lips like she was trying to figure out what I was saying. "I know because your mommy farts on me all the time and they say it's true love when you're comfortable enough to do it around your significant other."

I heard Bella mumble "Whatever".

Oh, tonight was going to be a fun night. I'd have to sex her up real good before I talk to her about Anthony.

* * *

 **I love their playful banter.**

 **RTB**


	44. Chapter 44

**I'm only posting one more for tonight and it might be a couple of days before I get the next update, so chapter 45 will be it for now. I have two days of 12 hour shifts to work. It's not even a holiday and people are buying jewelry left and right. Fine by me...it pays my bills.**

 **See you next chapter.**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns most characters. I own all the mistakes.**

 **2/18/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 44**

 **BPOV**

* * *

When Monday rolled around I decided to spend a little quality time with my mother. We had just laid all three babies on the floor for their tummy time. I stayed in the living room while mom went into the kitchen to get some lunch together for us.

She was back within ten minutes. "When's Alice gonna tell her parents?"

"What?" I looked at her funny. "What's she supposed to tell them?"

She gave me an all knowing smile. "I'm going out on a limb here, Bella, and guessing, but you just more or less told me the truth. I saw the looks you two were sharing the other night after you went upstairs to feed Arlo. Plus, she can't take her eyes off of these three."

I slouched my shoulders, feeling defeated. "You won't say anything?"

"No," she said, placing a very mouthwatering sandwich down in front of me on the coffee table. "Not my place."

"Thank you. She says she'll tell them soon. She's about six weeks along." I picked up my plate. "Mom, she planned this. I'd explain, but it would be just as confusing as it was when she was telling me."

"For whatever the reason," she mumbled through her bite of sandwich. She chewed a little before she continued. "I'm sure Alice knows what's best for her."

I shook my head. "I would've never thought of getting pregnant on purpose. It just doesn't sound right at our age, but I guess her and Jasper agreed on it. You know how she is, mom. She's seen her future with him and she wants it now instead of later. She thinks life is too short to wait around for the family they want together."

Mom nodded, wiping her face free of the mayo that was smeared on her mouth. "Not to change the subject, but have you talked to your father?"

"No. I've barely seen him the last two weeks. What's he up to?" I took a drink of my tea then picked up my sandwich.

"Well, it looks like Jake will be staying around for a while. His dad says he can stay until he graduates next year then he can decide if he wants to head back to the reservation."

We heard one of the babies let out a loud squeal. It was Piper trying to kick her legs. They were developing way faster than any of us expected. Mom says it's the Fae in their blood. She also said I developed really quick, too, and that's probably why I'm so smart. Before too long, all three of them will probably be crawling. I wasn't ready for that. I wanted Arlo to be a small baby for a little while longer.

And then Jackson decided he wanted to let his voice be heard. "I need to feed them," mom said and headed into the kitchen to fix their bottles.

When she got back and the babies were settled with the bottles, I needed to have a chit-chat with her about my conversation with my husband the night before. Yes, the bottles were propped up with a small blanket because they couldn't hold them yet. They were trying, though.

"So, I had a conversation with Edward last night about Anthony." I picked Arlo up from the floor and got her situated so I could breast feed her. "He wasn't sure how we needed to deal with him. I think he needs to be gone. I mean, gone, gone. For good. As in D.E.A.D, dead." Moms brows rose as I talked. "If we decided to let him go, he'll come back and the next time, I don't think he'll be so patient. We were lucky this time."

"Yes you were, and I think you're right, but who's going to be the one who does it?" She played with the small bootie that was on Arlo's foot.

"Edward already said he couldn't do it, and I know I can't do it, but I want to see him before they... well, you know. I just want to look him in the eyes and let him know that he lost."

"I think he already knows that, sweetie, considering he's locked up with leather straps soaked in Vervain wrapped around him."

I don't know why it crossed my mind or why I even cared but, "Are they feeding him?"

Mom shrugged her shoulders, "I have no clue. Why do you care, anyway?"

I shrugged my shoulders much like she did because I didn't have an answer for her. Maybe I was feeling a little sad for him? I did love him one point in time. He was only doing what he thought was right.

Wasn't he?

He still hurt a lot of people. Murdered a lot, too. He can't get away with it anymore.

All I know at this point is that neither Edward or myself could give Anthony the killing blow. I wasn't even sure the best way to kill a vampire. I knew wolf bites to a vampire is a death sentence. I also know that if their heads are torn off, they're dead as a human is when they pass away.

I was so damn confused.

I stayed for another hour then headed home. I was just getting out of the car when I started hearing voices. I wasn't sure where they were coming from, so I looked around, but there wasn't anyone. I heard a couple, I assumed were husband and wife, talking about what bills needed to be paid, then another male voice reprimanding someone. It sounded like a child he was talking to.

Were these in my head? I looked around, again with no one insight.

It was starting to screw with me. It was like the movie Bruce Almighty when he first started hearing everyone's prayers. I kept looking around as I pulled Arlo from the car and screamed at the top of my lungs when I turned around and Esme was standing right behind me. "You scared the crap outta me."

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I saw you through the window and you looked scared. What's going on?" She took Arlo from me as we started walking toward the house. She nuzzled Arlo's cheek and gave her a loud smooch before talking to her with her form of baby talk.

I shook my head. "I don't know." I still kept looking around, wondering if someone was playing a trick on me. "I was hearing voices."

"That's odd," she said, opening the front door of the house and stepping inside. "Is this the first time?"

"Yeah. It just hit me as soon as I got out of the car." Esme set Arlo down on the kitchen counter and started unbuckling her car seat.

Esme looked like she had her thinking cap on as she nuzzled her granddaughters neck as soon as she picked her up. "She smells so good."

"Esme, do you know something?" I had a feeling she was trying to avoid talking to me about this.

She was bouncing Arlo as she walked around the kitchen pulling stuff out for dinner. It was only her and Carlisle because I normally cooked for me and Edward. "I might know something, but I think your mom might be able to answer you better, though."

"My mom? What's my mo..." Then it hit me; it has to be the Fae in me and something had to be triggering it.

Esme raised her brows. "I'll keep an eye on Arlo if you need to go talk to your mom."

"You sure? Edward won't be home for another hour." Of course she knew because Carlisle got home around the same time. He goes in a little earlier than Edward because he is the boss after all.

"I'm sure." She kissed Arlo on her cheek. "Yes, mommy, go see Nana. Grandma has me." Esme did a good impression of a baby.

Even though I just came from there, I needed answers. "Okay. Give me an hour. If I'm longer, I'll text Edward to make sure he gets Arlo when he gets home."

I kissed Esme on the cheek then nuzzled my daughter. "Be good for Grandma. If you need to, there's breast milk in the freezer at home."

She had a key to get in if she needed to. Arlo wasn't due to eat for another two hours, so hopefully she'd be fine until I got back.

It took me just a few minutes to get back to my parents' house. My mom was surprised to see me back so soon. "I'm having an issue and it didn't start until I got out of the car when I got home."

"What kind of issue?" She was getting stuff out to make dinner for Phil, so I leaned against the counter and watched as she laid out a couple of steaks to get room temperature. Then we made our way into the living room where she had the twins in their bouncy seats watching some cartoons. I knew they couldn't really see what was going on, but the sounds and colors were calming them.

"I'm hearing voices." I picked up my baby brother just as mom was getting Piper and we sat on the couch together. "I'm still hearing them but they're not quite as loud as they were when they first started."

Moms brows rose in wonder. Then she took a deep breath. "Your grandmother was able to hear voices, too. She was a telepath and from what you're telling me, you've inherited that from her."

"Oh great. How the heck am I supposed to not hear people, now? And why is it just now happening and not a while ago?" Jackson was smacking his hand against mine.

Mom was turning Piper around so she could see me. Every time I talked, she would crane her neck to look my way. "That's just sissy," she told her before she began to answer my question. "Your grandmother would concentrate really hard on silence. She would close her eyes and try to think of other stuff like sandy beaches or an open field of wild flowers. And as for all this happening now? The only thing I can come to the conclusion is that you're knowledgeable of it, now. Before, you didn't know anything about being Fae, so that's my best guess. It'll all come on gradually."

Jackson was now trying to lift my hand toward his mouth. "Is there a way I can hear just one person?"

I, unfortunately, could hear what she was thinking that very moment. _"What's the best way I can explain this?"_

"I heard you." Jackson was starting to get fussy, so I lifted him up over my shoulder so I could pat his back. Mom did the same with Piper. "And why am I not freaking out over this?"

"Well, I'd say you're not freaking out because nothing surprises you anymore." Piper burped, so mom turned her back around to sit facing me, again. "Once I started learning all my Fae magic, nothing ever surprised me either."

"Isn't all magic the same?" Jackson burped and farted at the same time. "Well, thank you, brother of mine." They were probably just a tad gassy from the last bottle they ate.

Mom giggled. "Like father, like son. And to answer your question, yes and no. There's a lot that we can do that other magic folk can't do. We can conjure up balls of electricity in the palms of our hands and use it as weapons. There's just so much for you to learn. I haven't used any of my Fae powers since the night after your grandparents were murdered. It's gonna be like learning them all over, again."

"So, you're planning to come out of hiding?" I put Jackson back in his bouncy seat.

"Yeah, I need to. It's been time for me to take my rightful place for a long time, now." I wasn't sure what that meant, but if it meant losing my family, then I didn't want her to do it.

My heart ached a little as I thought about it. "Does that mean you'll be moving away from here?"

She chuckled. "No, honey. I'll be able to live my human life just as well be the Fae Queen."

"How are..."

She cut me off before I could finish my question. "I'll have to re-establish myself and that may mean I'll have to be gone for a month or so just to get things back in order. I have no idea who's been in charge since my parents died. They may not welcome me as much as I'd like."

"What about Phil and the babies? Will you be going without t hem?" If she had to go without them, then I didn't want her going.

She took a deep breath. "The first week, I'll be there by myself, then I'll send for Phil and the twins if I can. They'll stay with me there until I feel that things are in order."

I felt sad all of a sudden. "For how long? And will I be able to come see you?"

My mom put her hand on my shoulder. "I don't know how long I'll be gone and you may have to wait to visit until I give you the all clear."

"All clear? What does that even mean?"

She cocked her head to the side with a look of uncertainty. "I have a feeling that things aren't gonna go as smoothly as they should. That's why I'm going by myself for right now. Then they'll come when I think things are okay." She sighed before continuing. "Honey, I've been in hiding for a very long time. I don't know if they're even looking for me."

"That's why you wanted them weaned from breast milk so quickly, huh? You knew you were going and needed them to be on formula to make it easier for Phil." I shook my head. "None of this seems fair."

"I know, honey." She sighed and pulled me into a hug. "It'll all work out. I just need you here to help with the babies and Alice will need you when she finally spills the beans that she's pregnant."

I jerked back from her. "When the hell are you going?"

She lightly tapped my mouth with the tips of her fingers. "Watch your mouth." Then she took my hand in hers. "Soon. Like in a week."

"A WEEK?!" I got up to walk around the coffee table. "You can't just..." I didn't know what to say. This was happening way too quick.

"Sit. Down," she demanded. "I know this is sudden, but you need to listen to me. I can't take my place from here and Phil knows that. We've talked about this and he's okay with it. He knows it may take me a month or so before I think it's okay for them to come to where I'll be."

I felt like I was about to cry. "Where will you be? Will we be able to talk to you?"

She smiled. "You'll be able to talk to me."

I gave her a funny look. "What about where you'll be?"

Mom touched the tip of my nose with her fingertip. I felt a light wave of magic run through me. "That's to be determined."

She was being too vague like she didn't want to tell me. "You can't tell me?"

"Not right now," she replied, getting up from the couch. "Listen, I just need you to be here for Phil if he needs your help. Esme and Carlisle will help out, too. Marcus and Claire said they'd be glad to help with anything, as well, and Emmett volunteered to move in while I'm gone."

"That's nice of him. Maybe that'll work out better than leaving him here alone. Emmett loves the babies. He could be a live in Man Nanny while Phil goes to work."

Mom gave me a huge reassuring smile. "It's taken care of, sweetie. And we trust Emmett or we wouldn't have even considered him."

I didn't know what else to say. My mom was taking off without her family to take over as the Queen Fairy. All this just sounded like a huge fabricated story.

"Can I ask you something?" I turned on the couch and stuck my foot under my ass.

Mom stood to put Piper in her bouncy seat. "Of course. You can ask me anything."

"Because I'm part Fae, does that mean I have to use the magic?" I wasn't really interested in any of it, but it was part of my life. It was something I very well needed to learn to survive.

Mom took my hand in hers. "Being Fae isn't always about the magic. It can be used if you're just lazy and don't want to get up to go get yourself a drink. It can even help you with dinner. There's just a lot to learn." She gave me a small smile. "I've been working on mine since you found out, but nothing too noticeable because I can't have the Unseelie's find me before I leave for the Seelie Court."

"I think I felt it when you touched my nose just a few minutes ago," I said, not really understanding any of this crap.

She smiled, "That's just something small," she said, then got up from the couch. "So, the whole voice thing that's going on in your head, just do what your grandmother used to do. Just concentrate on something specific and the voices will fade with your choice."

By the time I got home, Edward was just walking across the back patio with Arlo in tow. "Hey," he said, leaning down just enough to give me a kiss.

"Hi," I said in return before looking over at Arlo. She looked like she was about to pass out. "We can't let her fall asleep; she'll be awake all night."

As soon as we walked through the door, I set about getting dinner together for us as Edward made his way into the living room to spend some time with our daughter. He was trying to keep her from falling asleep. Her bedtime wasn't for another hour. She was finally getting on a good schedule and close to sleeping through the night.

Thirty minutes later, I had some Penne with meat sauce. I toasted some garlic bread with a sprinkle of cheese over the top.

Arlo kept nodding off as she sat on her daddy's lap. She was darn cute when she fought to stay awake.

"This is great," Edward said, stuffing the last bite of his bread into his mouth after he wiped up the rest of the sauce off his plate.

"Thank you," I replied. "You still hungry?"

He shook his head. "I'm good." He leaned over to give me a small peck on the lips before getting up from the table. "I'm gonna go change her before you nurse her."

"Okay," I nodded. "I'll get started on the dishes."

Edward disappeared into the nursery as I started rinsing our dishes and putting them in the dishwasher. I heard Arlo let out a pissed off cry. She was probably mad because her daddy was moving her around too much when all she wanted to do was go to sleep.

A few minutes later, he came into the kitchen with a screaming Arlo. "She's ready for some boob."

I chuckled at him. "You okay to finish this?"

"I think I can handle it," he said, leaning down to nuzzle his nose into the crook of my neck. Just as he sucked some of my skin into his mouth, Arlo let us know that she didn't like that one bit.

I gave her a pouty look and took her from Edward. "You're so grumpy, peanut."

The moment my nipple touched her mouth, the room quieted while she began to drink greedily. She was absolutely starving.

Edward told me he was heading to the shower after he finished the dishes and all I could think about was my mom and what all this Fae crap meant to her. If she was truly in danger, there had to be something that could protect her.

I looked like I'd be having a nice long conversation with my dad about all this.

* * *

 **So, Renee is leaving. I guess being a Queen is a hard and private job.**

 **RTB**


	45. Chapter 45

**Last one for the night and I won't lie...there's some sex involved.**

 **No copy right infringement intended. SM owns most of the characters. I own all mistakes.**

 **2/18/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 45**

 **EPOV**

* * *

I didn't know how I was going to tell Bella that I had left work a little early a few days ago to see Anthony. He needed to be dealt with, but I think, ultimately, they were waiting for Bella to make the decision on what to do with him.

He had refused to drink any of the blood he was given. If it were up to me, which it wasn't, I wouldn't even offer him anything. Especially the product that essentially kept him alive. He was going on more than a few months without any blood or any real food.

He also wasn't saying too much to anyone or sleeping but only a few hours at a time. The only thing he mumbled every once in a while was that he was wrong. The two police officers, whom were also vampires, Mike and Randy, were the ones providing the place to keep him. I thought they'd have him wrapped in the Vervain straps, but he was being held in a room that he couldn't get out of. Of course he was too weak to do anything and there were no windows. We all assumed he had a daylight amulet like Marcus and Emmett did, but that wasn't the case. He was like Claire and didn't need one. All the crap we're learning now would have been helpful a long time ago.

There was so much I was learning. I wasn't so sure I wanted to learn anything about being a Warlock, but the more I thought about it, I think I might put some effort into it. I also found out that the magic's between Fae, Witch and Warlock weren't that different at all. We can do some stuff they can't and vice versa.

Bella was in for a huge surprise if she didn't already know.

Also, a few days before, Bella had told me that her mom was leaving to take her place as the Fae Queen. I still shook my head a little just to clear it. I had to be living inside a storybook much like the TV show _**'Once Upon A Time'.**_

Bella was head over heels for _**'Hook'**_. I tried my hardest to get fresh with her while using an Irish accent.

She told me it wasn't the same, but I still tried. Although, my accent sounded like a cross between an Australian and a British person. I was the lucky one, after all, because I was the one who got to kiss and fondle her anytime I wanted.

It was finally the weekend and I had a little surprise worked out for Bella. It was a little time away, at my mother's insistence, from Arlo to have some Mommy and Daddy time.

I asked Jasper to set up the little alcove where Bella and I made love for her seventeenth birthday. I planned to spend as much time as possible out there with her. Thankfully, mom said to take our time and maybe try to get some sleep, too, while we could.

I wasn't planning on sleeping much at all and I wanted to tell her about Anthony after our rendezvous.

As soon as I got home from work, I entered through my parents so I could ask my mom for her pic-nick basket. I was going to put our dinner together of cheese and fruits. I'll also have some Roasted Garlic Hummus and pita chips, which is her absolute favorite.

The more I thought about our dinner, the hungrier I got.

Bella was currently at her mom's so she could spend some time with her before she left in a few days. I was hoping to take her mind off of everything by taking her to our little hideout. I hoped it worked.

I loaded up my truck with the basket and a few blankets. I even threw a couple of our pillows, for good measure, behind my seats and once I was done, I changed out of my work clothes and waited.

The time was ticking away as slow as it possibly could. It was close to seven by the time I heard the door close a little too hard, making me cringe from the sound. My mind went on high alert as soon as my wife entered the living room and placed our daughter on the floor next to me.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She looked pissed or at the least, severely irritated.

I scrunched my brows wondering what she was talking. "Tell you what?"

Arlo made a whining noise, wanting out of her seat, so I reached down to unbuckle her belt and picked her up. She cuddled into the crook of my neck as soon as I placed her up on my shoulder.

Bella rolled her eyes at me. "Why didn't you tell me about going to see Anthony? I thought we were gonna do that together?"

"I'm sorry. I was going to tell you tonight, but obviously, someone else beat me to it." Arlo reached her arm around the back of my neck and started pulling at my hair.

Bella huffed and shook her head. Her hands went to her hips, preparing herself to give me a piece of her mind. We hadn't had an argument in ages and it looked like 'Ages' had come to an end. "Edward," she took a deep breath. "Was there an ulterior motive for going by yourself? Is there something you don't want me to know about?"

"No, Bella." I stood so I could take Arlo and put her in her bed because it looked like we weren't going anywhere for our small get away. "Let me put her down and then we'll talk."

It took me a few minutes; I prolonged the verbal beat down she was about to give me.

As soon as I walked in the living room, Bella was digging around in her purse for something when she noticed I was back and ready for her reprimand.

I stood and watched her for a minute after she glanced at me and went back to digging around in her purse. "Look," I said, sitting down next to her and taking her purse away. "Can you stop digging for five minutes so I could tell you why I went?"

She scooted back on the couch and crossed her arms over her chest. "Start talking."

"I don't know the real reason I went. I guess I wanted to see for myself that he wasn't able to get out. I wanted to look at him and see if I could see someone who was actually human once." I reached up and rubbed my thumb across the apple of her cheek. "I wanted to see if I could actually kill him."

She was breathing pretty heavily, sighing, loudly before she even turned her eyes toward me. "And can you?"

"No," I shook my head. "I can't. And I don't know if anyone else should, either."

She gave me a -What the hell are you talking about- look and scrunched up her eyes, looking at me like she was trying to understand the words I just spoke to her. "I don't get it."

"What don't you get?" I scooted back, making sure I was close to her. "The fact that I don't think he should be killed?"

Then she deflated, like she gave up the fight. "I don't know."

I raised my brows at her. "Who told you?"

She pulled her lips between her teeth before she stood from the couch. "See, that's just it..." She walked to the other side of the coffee table.

"Out with it, Bella." It was my turn to cross my arms over my chest.

She clasped her hands in front of her. "I went to see him, too." She admitted. "Today. Mom watched Arlo while I went to see him."

I raised my brows at her. "And?"

"He's the one who told me you went to see him," she confessed. "He kept apologizing for all the stuff he did."

"Does that change your mind? I mean about him being dead." I patted the cushion beside me. "Come sit."

She came to sit, but had her body turned toward mine. "I don't know anymore. I wanted him dead for kidnapping me, for killing all those people because they had something to do with Warlocks or Witches. I'm not that person, and neither are you. I don't think I want to know what happens to him. He's starving himself; he's turning gray."

"Yeah, I noticed, but it's his choice. We're not starving him, and we can't force him to eat; food or blood." I took her hand in mine. "We just need to tell your dad that we can't do it."

She gave me a sad smile. "I'm sorry," she said leaning over and giving me a small kiss. "We kinda messed up, didn't we?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I wouldn't say messed up, per se. There was a lack of judgment, so now that we've talked about it, we can call it done and over with."

She smiled. "I agree," she said, then climbed into my lap. "We can have some make up sex if you want."

"I did have something planned; it's still not too late. My mom'll just have to come over here to watch little miss," I said, hinting that what I had planned also included some sexy times for us.

Then just as Bella was hopping off my lap, our daughter let us know that she wasn't asleep, so Bella went to get her.

I took her when Bella passed her off to me. "I'm gonna go freshen up some, okay. Then we can do whatever plans you made for us."

Arlo snuggled into my chest as I rubbed her back. It was like she didn't get enough daddy time when Bella first got home.

I kissed the top of her head where her hair was starting to curl. It was so adorable. "Daddy loves you, pumpkin."

I could lay with her like this all night, but I wanted to take my wife where it meant something special to us.

Forty minutes later, we pulled up in the private lot down from Jasper's house. As soon as Bella saw where we were, she got really excited. "What's all this for?"

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her into my side. "Because, wife of mine, we needed some real private time. My mom suggested it and we don't need to hurry home. She said she'd keep Arlo with her for the night."

When we walked around the first big boulder, I was happy to see that Jasper didn't let me down, yet again. He really was a great guy. My sister honestly knew what she was doing when he came walking into our lives.

Bella smiled up at me. "This is great; thank you."

She kicked her shoes off and dropped her purse next to the cooler that Jasper put some drinks in for us. I already had the basket with our food.

I spread the blanket out before turning on a couple more battery operated lanterns and opened up the basket as Bella joined me. I wanted to see if she'd notice the food that I brought for us.

She grabbed two cokes from the cooler and opened them. "Thank you for this," she said as she watched as I was laid out the food. "You brought all my favorite stuff."

"I did," I said, raising my hand with a grape between my fingers. "I'm trying to seduce my wife."

"No seduction needed. This is all amazing, and I love you for it," she said, scooping up some humus with a pita chip.

We ate in relative silence only speaking when there wasn't food in our mouth. We were both starving and food was the only thing on our minds at that moment.

Once we ate, we cleaned up the leftover food and folded up the blanket. I wanted to make it a little more romantic, so I switched the radio on with a playlist of our favorite songs.

When Sia's Helium came on as the first song, a huge smile spread across her face. She took two steps and eased her arms around me, so I took advantage of her lips as her face was turned up toward mine.

We swayed to the song and lavished in the expansive quietness that spread around us. The only thing we could hear was the waves from the ocean and the music coming from the radio.

Our shirts came off leading us to the rest of our clothes. We were naked a few moments later and made our way over to the blow up mattress.

I pulled the blanket back before I eased her down. I followed suit, settling between her legs. We weren't in a hurry by any means, but we were horny as hell. Arlo had kept us from having any kind of sex.

I didn't hesitate to push her legs up with my thighs as I eased my hardness into her hot heat. My wife had never had an issue of being wet enough. She was always nice and slick as I entered her. This was only the first round and I knew it wouldn't last long.

Bella's nails dug into my back each time I thrust inside of her. Her moans urged me on to drive deeper. She felt so hot and tight around me even after having a baby. My wife has the best pussy there ever was.

I raised up on my hands to look down where I entered her. I used one hand to slip under her ass and hold her up. My arm started to shake as I held onto her lower body, but until I was done releasing inside her, she was staying where she was.

When my orgasm eased off to the end, I lowered her ass back to the mattress. I slipped out of her as I laid my body next to hers. My arm went across my forehead as I tried to catch my breath. "I'm not done with you, yet."

"Is that a threat or a promise?" She rolled to her side to face me. "I sure as hell hope it was a promise."

"Definitely a promise. Our daughter's been cockblocking us for far too long," I said as I rolled to my side long enough to give her a quick kiss. "I gotta piss."

I ducked behind one of the boulders to relieve my bladder. My cock was still a little hard and I knew if I started thinking of fucking my wife again, I'd be at full attention in no time at all.

For the rest of the night, we talked, had sex, snacked on some of the fruit that was left from our dinner and had sex, again. I lost track after the third time. We just couldn't get enough of each other.

We left the next morning just as the sun was coming up. Bella wanted to be home before Arlo woke up, but we knew that wouldn't happen. That was our first night away from our daughter since she was born. I was surprised Bella didn't blow up my mom's phone.

Once we got Arlo from my parents, Bella nursed her while I made us some breakfast. I was sure her appetite was as ravenous as mine after the tremendous workout we had the night before. I wasn't sure what my issue was, but all I could think about was finding different ways we could have sex. I was half tempted to go buy another Kama Sutra book to help me out.

For the rest of the day we just lounged around the house then at six that evening, Bella got a call from Alice. She wanted us to meet her at my parents' house. I knew it was the day she was going to tell us she's pregnant. I would stand by her side every step of the way. She did the same for me and Bella, so I knew she needed all the support she could get.

"You think she's gonna tell your mom and dad?" Bella asked as she changed Arlo's diaper. Bella had to practically hold her down as she changed her. She was all over the place.

I took a deep breath. "Yeah; I was wondering how long she was gonna wait."

"She's scared. I know I was scared to tell my parents and you, but I don't think they'll blow a fuse like my dad did. They'll be upset, of course, but they'll also support her; I know they will," Bella said, snapping the buttons on the onsie Arlo was wearing.

I took my little miss when she was finally all buttoned up. She loved reaching her arm around my neck and playing with my hair. She was just like her mother. There were times Bella woke me in the middle of the night wrapping my hair around her fingers.

About ten minutes till six, we walked across the pool decking to the main house. We let ourselves in the back patio door. Alice and Jasper were already sitting in the living room. I was sure they were waiting for us to be there. They were acting like it was any other day around the house. My parents were used to Jasper being there with Alice, so as far as they were concerned, Jasper was just visiting.

My mom came down the stairs and cooed over Arlo. It was like she hadn't seen her all day even though Arlo had spent the night with her the night before.

I glanced up at Bella and knew it was time we joined Alice and Jasper to see what the next step was going to be.

* * *

 **How do you think Carlisle and Esme will react?**

 **RTB**


	46. Chapter 46

**Let's see what happens with Alice.**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns most of the characters and I own all mistakes.**

 **2/20/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 46**

 **BPOV**

* * *

When me and Edward entered the living room where Jasper and Alice were, she gave me a small smile with a slight head nod. That answered my question as far as spilling the beans to her parents. My gut told me that Carlisle and Esme weren't going to be too happy, but there really wasn't much they could do about it. Alice was eighteen now.

Yes, she still needed to finish her Senior year, but that was just one of the small goals that she needed to accomplish. I just wondered if her and Jasper were going to get married or wait. And, where would they live?

Carlisle came down a few minutes after Esme and made his way into the living room where we were all sitting. Esme still held Arlo until Carlisle wanted to hold her.

I decided I wanted to break the ice a little by telling them about my mom and hopefully Alice would slip her news in. I knew they already knew, but I was playing stupid at the moment.

"Have you guys heard about my mom?" I asked, snuggling in closer to my husband as we shared the loveseat.

Esme smiled, "Yes; we've already been over everything and we'll be there to help Phil as much as we can."

"I'm sure they greatly appreciate that," I said, laying my cheek against Edwards shoulder.

"I know that as long he has help from all of us, he'll be okay," Carlisle said, shaking a rattle in front of Arlo's face.

Then the quietness blanketed over us. I had tried to ease into this whole debacle, but now it was left to the bomb throwers, Alice and Jasper.

"So," Alice finally spoke up. "Jasper and I have some news. I'm not sure how to say this, but all I'm asking for is support. We have everything else figured out."

I glanced between Carlisle and Esme. They looked a little confused with what she was saying. "Okay," Esme stressed. "What's the news?"

"I'm pregnant; me and Jasper are getting married and we'll have our own house. It's one of Mr. and Mrs. Whitlock's rental properties." She said it so quick that I barely made the words out clearly.

Carlisle's mouth hung open and Esme sat still with a blank stare on her face.

"All we're asking is for your support on this. We've been figuring stuff out since I found out I was pregnant. I know you're probably shocked, but we love each other very much and he's the one; I've seen it." She sat a little closer to Jasper as Carlisle and Esme looked at each other. They were definitely dumbfounded. "And the money Jasper makes at his job is well enough to cover our utilities and then some."

I felt stupid because I had no clue what kind of job Jasper had. All I knew was that his parents owned quite a bit of property with about six rental houses and they own a huge apartment complex. I knew he was taking some sort of classes in the evening to get his degree in Radiology.

Carlisle's brows were nearly to the edge of his hair line. "Well, that's definitely news." He said as he glanced over at me and Edward. I shrugged my shoulders and looked over to Esme. "Es? I don't know how to react to this."

Esme gave her head a little shake. "You're not the only one." Then she looked to Alice and Jasper. "Well, I guess all we can say is, we hope you know what you're doing and from the sounds of it, you've already got everything figured out. I'm a little off guard about this, though."

"I am, too," Carlisle said. "We honestly didn't expect something like this from you, Alice, but you're an adult now, so as long as you're happy and know what you're doing, then as your parents, we'll support you. We love you unconditionally and there's nothing we wouldn't do for you."

Alice jumped from the couch and flew at Carlisle. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you, daddy. I'm sorry it happened this way and I feel like I've let you down by not waiting." She pulled away from Carlisle. "Jasper promises to take good care of me and spoil me. And I promise to graduate this year. I won't let that get away from me."

Arlo was getting fussy with her Auntie Alice being so close to her Grandpa. You'd think she was jealous.

Esme stood and walked to her husband and daughter. She hugged her daughter like she'd never see her, again. "You'll always be our baby," she cried into Alice's shoulder. "It's not what we wanted for you right now, but I have no choice but to believe you when you say he's the one for you."

Jasper sat waiting for what, I wasn't sure, but he had a smile on his face. I knew it was because he wasn't getting his ass kicked for knocking Alice up.

As for us, we didn't have a choice in the matter. Our reasoning was all magical, but the way everything has turned out, I wouldn't have changed it for the world. Except maybe when Anthony took me. I would have preferred giving birth in a hospital instead on the floor of a basement.

Once Alice was done hugging her mother, she stepped over to Jasper who stood from his seat on the couch. "Mr. and Mrs. Cullen, if it's okay with you, Alice and I would like to get married before our baby is born?"

Carlisle stood and brought Arlo over to me and Edward. She wanted her daddy and snuggled into his chest. She did that every time she's in his lap. He never had an issue with getting her t sleep.

I wasn't really sure why we had to be here for this, but I guess me and Edward were there to give them our support if things didn't go too well, but I had a gut feeling that everything was going to be okay.

Esme took Jasper into a hug and scolded him. "Stop being so formal. We've known each other long enough that you don't need to call us Mr. and Mrs. Cullen. Please use our first names." She stepped back. "We don't want you to feel like you have to be married. If it's what you want, then we'll help any way we can." Esme gave Jasper a pat on his cheek. "You're a good kid, and we know you'll treat our baby girl well."

"I love her. She's in a category all on her own and she means the world to me," Jasper said, smiling down at Esme. "We'd like to get married soon if that's okay?"

Edward and I watched as they talked, but then Alice turned toward us with a huge smile on her face. "Bella?" She questioned. "I would like for you to be my matron of honor."

It was my turn to stand up and pull her into a hug. "Of course I will."

"Thank you," she said with a watery response. Then she turned to her parents. "I want to be married before I blow up and can't fit into a wedding dress."

I knew Carlisle and Esme were warring with themselves over not being able to keep any of their children from teenage pregnancy. They didn't have anything to worry about concerning Evan; he was well over eighteen. I wondered what he would think once he found out his baby sister was pregnant and getting married in the very near future.

Alice hugged her parents one more time. "I love you. Thank you for not assassinating Jasper."

"I don't think it would've went that far," Carlisle said. "You just get this all planned out and let us know where we can help." He wrapped his arm around Esme's waist. "I'm sure your mother would like to help with the plans."

Esme nodded then looked at me. "I'm sure Bella would like to help, too."

Edward stood from the couch with our sleeping daughter. He always has the magical touch with her. He wrapped his free arm around Alice's head. "You know I support you." He kissed the top of her head. "I might even let you sleep on my couch when Jasper snores you out of the room in the middle of the night."

Jaspers brows rose. "Excuse me? When who snores?"

Edward chuckled, releasing Alice and wrapping his arm around Jasper. They were just about the same height so Edward had to raise his arm a little higher. "In that case, you can sleep on my couch."

We said our goodnights and went home. All I wanted to do was curl up in bed with my husband and watch a movie. If little miss lets us, that is.

The day had finally come that my mom was leaving indefinitely. Edward took the day off so he could be with me. We had left the house early so we could spend the day with her. She was leaving in the early afternoon. There was a car expected around one.

Mom had breakfast ready when we arrived so we shared that time with her, and when lunch rolled around, I made lunch for everyone. Mom barely put the twins down. None of us knew how long she was going to be gone. For Phil's sake, I hoped it was only a few weeks before she sent for them.

She loved on Arlo and spent a little extra private time with Phil while me and Edward watched the twins. They loved being on the floor with their niece.

That sounded so weird. They were only older by a couple of weeks, but still, it was weird. They'd grow up together and I was pretty sure they'd be more like cousins than Aunt, Uncle and niece.

The closer it got to one, the more on edge I became. Edward tried to keep my mind off of everything, but I couldn't stop thinking that I'd never see my mother, again.

I knew that would never happen. The way my mom explained it to me, she'd have plenty of security, but who's to say that the people who were her security weren't against her and try to kill her?

That wouldn't leave my head. I was scared for her and nothing was going to convince me otherwise until I knew for a fact that she was completely safe. I only wished my dad knew of a way he could help protect her.

Speaking of my dad; he'd been by the day before to see my mom. He wasn't available to be here with us. He was busy working on another case that took him up state.

My stomach started churning about thirty minutes before my mother was due to leave. I was clinging to her like I was a three year old who couldn't be without her mother for a minute.

"You'll be okay," she said with her arm wrapped around my shoulders. I was snuggled into her side as I watched my husband on the floor with the babies. He was so adorable as he babbled with them. "You have a husband and a daughter that'll keep you busy. You won't even notice I'm gone."

I sat up. "That's a load of bull and you know it. It'll be like we're living apart again like when I lived with dad in Forks."

"I need you to be the adult that you are, right now. Phil's gonna need you." She kissed the side of my head as I resumed my position at her side. "I'm relieved that Emmett will be here to help a lot, too; he's such a great guy."

I nodded. "Yeah, he is. Claire and Marcus, too. It's like they've always been a part of our family."

"It does," she agreed. "Just remember they're here for all of us. You know you can count on them if you need any help with anything. Just come by or call every other day or even every day if you feel you have to just to make sure Phil's doing okay. This is gonna be rough on him. He's got a tough exterior but his interior's probably not doing so well, right now."

I could feel the tears pouring over my cheeks. I couldn't help it; my mother was leaving. We needed her here with us, with her family, but I knew what she was doing is very important to her. It needed to be done years before, but she was terrified of what would happen to me or my dad if the Unseelie's found her.

"I'll do whatever I can. I'll be here every day if I have to just to make sure they're eating good enough." I sat up and looked at my mother. "It's like you're leaving forever."

My mom placed her hand on each cheek. "Sweetheart, I'd never leave you. If I thought this was the wrong thing to do, then I wouldn't be doing it. I know all three of my children are very well taken care of. You have Edward that would die for you, so I need you to focus on taking care of my granddaughter. Your dad will be around when he can, so will Jacob. We've got a whole village here to help with whatever we need. Don't let your pride be too much that you're afraid to ask for help."

"I'll do my best," I said as I sniffled away my runny nose. "I love you, Momma and I'll miss you."

She wrapped her arms around me as we heard the doorbell ring. A chill crept down my spine as I knew it was the car here to pick up my mother. Phil came around the corner from the kitchen to answer it. I glanced over and noticed a man dressed in a dark suit and dark sunglasses like he was some sort of secret service man.

"You're like a big deal, aren't you?" My brows were drawn together, not really grasping the concept that my mother really was a Queen. They were taking this more serious than I expected.

She gave me a sad smile. "I'm afraid so," she said, wrapping her arm around my shoulder as we walked towards the door. Edward had picked up Arlo as I picked up Piper and Phil scrambled to pick up Jackson.

"Give me five minutes," mom said to the man. He simply gave a single head nod and took two steps away from the door, but not leaving the front area of the house.

Mom took Arlo first and hugged on her for a minute, whispering how much she loved her into her ear then giving her a good grandmotherly squeeze.

The twins were next. She took one at a time and expressed her love for them, crying into their cheeks. I knew she didn't want to leave them; I wouldn't want to leave Arlo for anything. This Queen shit could kiss my ass if I had to leave my family for any undisclosed amount of time.

I knew the babies were delirious to what was going on, but I could be absolutely positive that after a night without my mom being here to take care of them, they'd know she wasn't here.

Once she was done with the babies, she gave Edward a tight hug, said something into his ear then went to her husband. She started crying harder, which made Phil cry. His tears fell in heavy droplets as he hugged her with his entire being. She was his everything next to their children, and I knew what it was like to be away from my husband for so long. I was only gone for just over two weeks, but it felt like a lifetime away from Edward.

Mom's bag was already sitting by the door. She wasn't taking much because they didn't wear normal civilian clothing where she was going. The only way she could describe their clothes was like wearing a very flowy dress. Something like women wore in the seventies, I assumed.

Phil had to pry himself away from her before he completely lost it. She needed to leave before he changed his mind and locked her up in their bedroom, not letting her leave at all. He was too understanding, but from what my mom explained to me, it was pretty rough after she first initially told him she wanted to take her place as Queen and what it entailed. They had never fought that badly in any amount of time that they'd been together. I hated to see this happen to them; to all of us, really.

We watched as mom climbed into the back seat of the car as the gentleman driving her closed the door before making his way to get in.

The windows were very darkly tinted, so we couldn't see her as they pulled away. I knew she was crying her eyes out as I stood in the doorway of her home and sobbed into my husband's chest. Arlo was incoherant as to what was going on, but also knew that her mommy wasn't very happy at that moment. I felt her tiny hand on my head and gave it a couple of pats. I wanted to believe she was consoling me.

I wasn't ready to leave my parents' home, so we decided we'd stay until after the twins went down for the night. It was a quiet evening until Emmett, Marcus and Claire showed up along with the rest of the Cullen family. It was as if they sensed Phil needed all of us and we were there to show our support.

Emmett actually got Phil to laugh for a second when he started carrying his bags in from his car. He had more luggage than most materialistic women had. We watched as he carried, at the least, six suitcases in and sat them by the door. Phil chuckled, "Really, Emmett? Did you bring your entire wardrobe?"

"Nah, man; this is just half of it. I may have to go back and get more. Who knows, I may actually like living here and decide to stay forever," he clarified, smiling a huge toothy grin at all of us.

Esme rolled her eyes and looked over at Claire. They had to be doing mental telepathy because they occasionally nodded or shook their heads. I wasn't trying to listen in on anyone. That was definitely a day I refused to know what anyone was thinking.

About thirty minutes after I helped Phil get the twins to bed, we were packing up Arlo's stuff so we could head home. Esme, Carlisle, Alice and Evan left just before the twins had their last bottle for the night. Phil hugged Carlisle the same way he hugged my mother.

I knew they were best friends and would do anything for each other. The fact that Phil could be himself around everyone, considering the circumstances, really said a lot about him. He wasn't about to deny any help from anyone.

I hugged Emmett. "Thank you for doing this. He really needs someone here with him and I'm glad it's you."

"No need to thank me," he said, giving me a tight squeeze, lifting me from the floor. "No matter what, I see you as my sister and those babies will never forget their big brother Emmett if I have anything to do with it. They're in the best of hands with me. I'll have my own, one day, so I'll give little Miss Piper and Mr. Jackson more attention than what they're used to until then."

That was another prayer on my list; I hoped that one day, Emmett finally found his soul mate. He thought Rosalie was his match, but after what she did with Anthony, he gave up hope of ever finding his mate. I knew she was out there somewhere; he just wasn't looking in the right places.

As soon as me and Edward made it home, Edward took Arlo to her room to change her into her pajamas, and I did the same before I made my way into her room. I sat in the glider rocker as I watched him with our daughter. It made my heart melt and want to have many more children with him; he was the best father to our daughter.

I nursed Arlo until she fell asleep and even then, I couldn't lay her down. I sat staring at her as I rocked. I traced the tiny features on her face with the tip of my finger. Her bottom lip was sticking out from where she had been latched on to my breast and a little bit of milk was at the corner of her mouth. She was such a beautiful baby with so much of her father in her. I saw more of him than me as I watched her sleep. My heart felt so heavy as I started crying again over my mother leaving.

It felt like hours before I looked up and saw my husband standing in the doorway. He'd been watching me with our daughter much like the way I watched Arlo as she slept. "You coming to bed?"

I nodded. "Yeah; I don't wanna put her down, though."

"I know, baby, but we need to get some sleep. You have some wedding planning to do with my sister tomorrow," he said, enlightening me to what I had promised Alice before she left from my parents' house. I knew it would, hopefully, keep my mind off things.

Edward took Arlo and laid her in her crib, covering her with her thin blanket before he reached his hand out to me. "C'mon; I'll tuck you in, too."

I gave him a sad smile and accepted his hand.

We walked into our room just after our trip to the bathroom to brush our teeth. I was on autopilot as I pushed the covers back and climbed into bed.

Edward was next to me a moment later, pulling me into him, spooning me.

His arms around me felt amazing and secure. They made me feel protected and loved as well wanted. We laid silently for a long while before I turned in his arms and buried my face in his chest. "Will you make love to me? I really need you; I want you in me and on me."

I moved my head back to look up at him. He moved his head down an inch or two so he could capture my lips with his. There was nothing rushed or frenzied as we made love with our mouths. We didn't release each other as Edward pushed me to my back. I automatically opened my legs to allow him to settle where I was needing him.

My panties were pushed down a few moments later along with is boxers and my night shirt. We were completely naked against each other as our mouths resumed their love making.

Edward eased his hand between us and slipped his fingers down to my wet and waiting pussy. I knew I was ready for him, but he loved to dip into me with is digits before we went any further. He pushed two inside of me causing my back to arch from the bed and releasing his mouth with a gasp. I loved any part of him inside of me; his fingers, his tongue, and especially his cock.

My legs fell wider the more desperate I became. "I need you, now," I whispered into his ear as he kissed and sucked at my neck. The man loved to mark me and I was passed being embarrassed about it. I was a married woman and I didn't care who knew my husband was making love to me.

He released my skin with a pop before he pulled his fingers from inside of me, and grasped himself to position at my entrance.

Slowly; ever so slowly, he pushed inside of me. He pushed as far as he could without completely climbing inside. His hips rotated just as he drew back only to repeat his actions. I felt so full and my clit twitched thinking about just him at that moment. That's what I wanted. I wanted my mind away from everything that was happening.

"Harder," I requested. I didn't necessarily want faster, just harder. I loved it when I felt him so far up inside me. I imagined that our love making would never get boring. It reminded of an episode of Greys Anatomy where Miranda was talking to Dr. Webber's wife about having old people sex. That's what I wanted with Edward. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him and enjoy old people sex when we get old.

Edward slipped his arms under mine own and gripped my shoulders for leverage. His knees pushed my legs open further and started driving into me like his life depended on it. Not too fast and definitely not too slow.

My nails dug into his back with every thrust and I could feel Edwards mouth on me as he sucked at the juncture of my neck and shoulder. He used his teeth and sucked at the same time.

A growl erupted from Edward as he stared pumping faster. My orgasm was teetering on the edge and the harder he thrusted into me, the pulse began to rise.

"Fuck," he growled. "I love you."

I wasn't sure if my legs could go any further, but as soon as I tried to pull them open more, I felt the lower part of Edwards stomach smack into my clit. The rough feeling from his pubic hair was sending electric shocks through me. "I'm there; I'm there!"

I tensed up as the heat flashed through me and I clamped my legs around his hips. His mouth found mine as we rode out our orgasms and captured each other's moans and heavy breathing. I could feel the sweat between our chests or it was milk from my breasts; I wasn't sure and I really didn't care. My husband just took me to another galaxy.

Edward rolled off of me and threw his arm over his eyes. Before he got comfortable I needed something. "Can you get me some tissue, please?"

He reached over to the bed side table on his side and grabbed the box of Kleenex. I wanted to wipe my chest off before I hopped up and headed to the bathroom. I needed to get cleaned up before we had to change the sheets.

Fifteen minutes later, I was cuddled back into bed with my husband. He eased up behind me, spooning me. His arm was under mine and between my tits. I fell asleep much faster this way. We were still naked and I knew there was a huge possibility that I'd be getting more action sometime in the middle of the night.

He always knew how to make me feel better.

* * *

 **I'm so sad for her.**

 **Hope you liked it.**

 **RTB**


	47. Chapter 47

**Happy Thursday. It's too bad I feel like this week has moved at a snails pace. I'm ready to sleep in as much as I can. I hope everyone has had a great week, so far. I shall see all of you tomorrow. I only have 10 chapters left then I'll be starting _'Black Tears'_.**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns most of the characters and I own all the mistakes.**

 **2/22/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 47**

 **EPOV**

* * *

"What's this supposed to do?" I asked as I added a pinch of Valerian root to the potion I was being taught by my Warlock teacher Mr. Worley. He was amazing at everything he was teaching me. He was even teaching me to do stuff with my hands. It was worth a shot to try and if I concentrated just enough, I could move a pencil across the table.

He raised his brow at me. "If you're not sure what this potion does, then why are you making it?"

I rolled my eyes feeling like a moron. "Sorry; It's the Draught of Peace, but am I actually going to use it on someone?"

"If you'd like. Is there someone you know that needs to be calmed?" He was writing stuff into a journal as he observed my lesson for the day. It was a Saturday and a month after Bella's mother left.

Renee was supposed to send for Phil and the babies a couple of weeks after she left, but there was something going on that kept her from being with her family. She'd sent a letter to Phil explaining that it would be just a bit longer and she promised she'd try and get stuff settled as soon as she could. She couldn't say what was going on, but it worried everyone. Bella was beside herself and I couldn't imagine what Phil was going through.

I had decided I wanted to learn about my heritage. It was my birth right, so I was going to embrace it. Bella decided she wanted to wait for her mom to help her out, but she's dabbled in a few things her mom showed her before she left. Her mind reading was already perfected so every chance I got, I was always trying to keep something dirty going through my head just so she'd know how much I always wanted her. I knew she was dipping into my thoughts when she'd give me a sideways glance with a knowing smirk.

Anthony was still refusing to eat or drink any blood. Charlie told us he was completely gray, now. He was getting to the point where he was going to be mummified. He'd still be alive, but wouldn't be able to move because there wasn't any blood running through him. It was his choice to starve himself. Bella even tried to get him to drink some blood from her and he refused; she figured if it was from her, he'd go for it because of her Fae blood, but he didn't. She talked to me first before she offered. I didn't like it, but I knew she was only trying to help.

As far as Phil and the babies, they were doing pretty good. Emmett kept them occupied when Phil was busy with work. He'd quit the baseball team and took a job with my dad working in the office so he could be home every night with Piper and Jackson. It's unbelievable how much all three babies have grown in just a month. Before too long, they'll be crawling. I couldn't wait, but then again, once they started getting around, I knew we'd be chasing them like chickens with no heads.

"So next Saturday, we're gonna try something for fun. I haven't decided what it'll be, but we need a break from all the serious stuff. We'll be starting with conjuring. You're catching on pretty good for being new at this." Mr. Worley was putting stuff into his bag. Who knew what he had in that thing, but it was the size of a small suitcase.

I smiled up at him. "That'll be cool. It'll be nice to play around with something fun."

As soon as I got home, I heard Arlo screaming at the top of her lungs. She was in her pack n' play with no Bella in sight. "Bella!"

"In here!" It sounded like she was in our bedroom.

When I walked through the door, she was fluffing a sheet out over our bed; she was making it. "Why's little bit screaming?"

"Cause she's not in here with me. She'll be fine; she's not getting her way and that's why she's throwing a fit." Bella grabbed our comforter and tossed it on the bed and started spreading it out. I watched as she did it with perfection. I definitely couldn't do it any better than her, and I knew she was using a little magic to make it so perfect.

I glanced over at our laundry basket and noticed she'd been to my parents to wash our clothes. She'd been pretty busy all day while I was with my teacher. "Did you have plans for dinner?" I kicked my shoes off and put them in the closet on the shoe rack. If I left them on the floor, Bella would have a conniption fit.

"Nothing really," she said as she smacked at the pillows while she tried to situate them. "Did you want to go out?"

I strained my ears to listen as Arlo screamed. "It'll give you a break from cooking."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Sure; I'm almost done. I'll nurse Miss whiney butt before we go."

I watched as Bella left our room and I couldn't help the smile that crept across my face. It was still sometimes hard to believe that we're married, and have a baby. I've ran into a couple of guys from school and they thought I was completely insane for getting married and having a family so soon. I just shrugged; to each their own, I suppose. I was beyond happy and if I had anything to do with it, which I do mostly, our happiness would never end.

We decided to go to one of the restaurants over by the pier. It wasn't too busy and luckily, Arlo decided after screaming so much and getting fed, she'd fall asleep in the car to our destination.

She was pushed into the booth, in her infant car seat, next to me while Bella sat on the other side. Tiredness graced her face, but she was still as beautiful as ever. "What are you staring at?"

"You," I replied. "You look a little tired."

"I am," she said as she glanced across the menu.

I smiled. "You're still beautiful as ever."

"You're just saying that so you can get lucky, later." She hid her smile behind the menu as she waited for my reply. "You know it's true."

I crossed my arms and gave her a stern look. "First off, Mrs. Cullen, I don't need to compliment you to get lucky. Secondly, why in the world would I lie about you being just as beautiful as the first time I met you? You still give me a chubby when we're in the same room together."

Her cheeks pinked up. "You got a chubby right now?"

I raised my brows at her. "You wanna find out? Come over here and feel for yourself."

And that's exactly what she did. She got up and walked to my side of the table and slid her hand down between my legs to feel the evidence. Sometimes it was uncontrollable and bugged the shit out of me when I couldn't bend her over and release the tension. "That's not a chubby, babe."

She released my dick just as the waitress walked up, so Bella went back to her side of the table. "You ready to order?"

I hoped she didn't see what Bella was doing, although she kept giving me her horny look as the waitress looked back and forth between us. "I would like the Shrimp Po' boy with some onion rings, please." I closed my menu and stared at my wife. If she wanted to play that game then I wasn't about to deny her.

"I'll have the Philly Cheesesteak. Can you please make sure it has provolone cheese and not American." She shivered as she said it. "American cheese is nasty."

The waitress smiled. "Absolutely. You want any fries?"

"The sweet potato fries with extra maple sauce, please." Bella closed her menu and handed it to the waitress before she glanced over at me and batted her eyelashes.

As soon as the waitress walked away, I needed to know what she called my chubby. "So, if I don't have a chubby then what is it?"

"I'd say it's more like a tree trunk," she retorted as she picked up her glass of water and took a sip.

I couldn't help the laugh that escape me. "You're not right, you know that?"

She gave me a gleeful smile. "Absolutely," she replied cheerily.

The conversation of my dick was dropped and brought to her online classes that she's decided to take. It was something for her to do while Arlo took her nap. She was indecisive as to what she wanted to major in, so she was taking common core classes at the moment. She had until the end of her first semester to decide what she wanted to major in. Her virtual instructor explained that it would be easier to go ahead and get some of the much needed classes started as soon as her next school year.

My wife was smart at anything she ever does, but she wanted to do this all on her own and not with the help of magic.

As soon as our food was served, we were quiet for a few minutes as we started to eat. Arlo decided to wake up, so I got her from her seat and sat her on my lap. She wanted to be a part of what was going on between her mother and I. We were just eating, but she didn't know that.

"Edward?" I closed my eyes for a second because if the voice I was hearing is who I think it is, I needed Bella to be ready to grab shit and run.

I slowly turned my face to who was interrupting my dinner with my family. "Charlotte?"

"Oh my goodness! It's so great to see you. I haven't seen you since graduation." She was too happy for her own good.

"Yup," I said dryly. "It's been a while."

"How've you been?" She hadn't looked in Bella's direction at all.

I gave her a half forced smile. "I've been great. I'm just having dinner with my family."

She turned around looking for someone. "Where's your parents? I'd like to say hello?"

"They're at home; I'm with my wife and daughter," I said through gritted teeth with a fuck off smile.

Charlotte turned toward Bella for a split second then back to me. "Oh, I think I did hear that you got married, but I didn't know you had a baby. Wow!" Then she leaned over to touch Arlo's face. "She's so ador..."

Bella pushed Charlotte's hand away from Arlo's face. "Don't touch my daughter. You need to ask before assuming it's okay to touch someone's baby."

"Excuse me?" Charlotte's eyes grew wide. "I wasn't gonna hurt her."

"I think it's best that you just go, Charlotte. It was nice seeing you," I said as I put Arlo back into her carrier.

Before Charlotte walked away she turned toward Bella. "I always knew you were a bitch."

As she walked away, Bella spoke up. "It sucked seeing you. Have a nice life." She rolled her eyes. "Did she not get the huge clue when we were in school that you wanted nothing to do with her anymore? And she knew we got married before we even graduated. She's so lame."

"I don't know, babe and I don't care; let's just eat so we can go home, put Arlo to bed so we can go to bed ourselves and fuck like rabbits." I stuffed an onion ring in my mouth and gave her a huge smile.

Bella's brows rose. "Well, I guess if you say so."

Thirty minutes later I was in line to pay the bill while Bella went ahead of me, to the car, so she could get Arlo strapped in. It took me a few extra minutes because there were two people ahead of me.

When I walked outside, Bella was just stepping away from the car as she made her way to Charlotte. This was definitely not a good situation. "You better get the fuck away from my car and stay the hell away from my family before I..."

I needed to get between them before my wife did something to Charlotte and ended up in jail. Charlotte would make sure Bella got more than what she deserved. "Bella?" She turned her head toward me and stopped her advance toward Charlotte. "What's going on?"

"I knew you were the type to get pregnant on purpose just so you could trap Edward into marrying you; you're scum," Charlotte said as she sneered at Bella.

That made my hackles stand on end. "I don't think you should put your nose where it doesn't belong. It's none of your damn business what goes on in my life, and so what if Bella got pregnant on purpose, which she didn't, we were gonna get married anyway. I advise you to take your snobbish self and fuck off."

Charlotte didn't know what to say; she stood there just staring at me like she couldn't believe the words that came out of my mouth. Then she rolled her eyes, "It'll never last," she said before she asked, "Are you even sure the baby's yours, Edward?"

I didn't bother answering her, so I urged Bella toward the car so we could get the hell away from the nosy bitch.

I slammed the door a little too hard scaring the heck out of Arlo which, in turn, made her cry. I leaned between the seats to try and sooth her before I started the car, but I knew as soon as the car was in motion, she'd calm down.

Bella didn't say a word on our way home, nor did she say anything as we made our way into our apartment. I knew she wasn't mad at me; she was just trying to save face and not bite mine off.

She got comfortable on the couch, switched the TV on and whipped out her boob so she could nurse Arlo. She started whining as soon as we walked through the door. "Can I get you something?"

"No, I'm good; thank you," she replied as she aimed the remote toward the TV so she could change the channel. She was trying to get caught up on Game of Thrones, which I liked myself, so I grabbed a bottle of water and took a seat next to her on the couch.

I watched Arlo suckle away at my wife's tit, making me yearn to get my mouth on them myself. It's not often I get to because as soon as my tongue makes contact with a nipple, she starts leaking milk, and that makes for a wet situation; definitely not the kind of wet I was seeking.

After about twenty minutes, Bella tried to switch sides, but as soon as Arlo saw me, she wanted me instead of getting her tummy full. "She's such a daddy's girl."

I took her from Bella so she could adjust herself on the couch. "You know it," I said before I blew a raspberry on Arlo's cheek. "You need to finish eating, little bit, before momma puts the factory away."

When I moved to hand her back to Bella, she went. Luckily, Bella hadn't put her breasts away. A few seconds later, Arlo was back to sucking.

And of course, the show comes to a part where there's sex. "Isn't that his sister?"

"Yes; it's disgusting."

We watched the last twenty minutes of the show before Arlo was completely passed out. Her tongue was sticking out a little and she was sucking as if she was still attached to her mother. She was so friggin cute.

Bella took Arlo to bed and got her settled. When she came back to the living room, she was completely naked. "I think there's some bunnies we need to catch up with."

She came and straddled my lap. "You wanna take this to the bedroom?"

"Is the front door locked?" she asked as she grinded herself over my very rapidly hardening erection.

"Yup," I said as I leaned forward and took one of her nipples in my mouth. I knew it was pretty much drank dry from Arlo, so I took my chances at getting some tit action.

Bella reached down and started to undo my pants as I pulled my shirt over my head.

I reached between her legs and went straight to the promise land. She was already slick from being so aroused.

With two fingers, I fucked her, curling them just so I could hit the hot spot as she gyrated over my lap.

I reached up with my other hand and pulled her face down to mine so I could kiss her. Her mouth opened, allowing me to penetrate past her lips. My hips started bucking up toward the area it wanted to be most.

My pants were undone, so I removed my fingers and pushed my pants down past my knees. All this with Bella still hovering over my lap and I needed to spread my legs open to get more leverage when I finally pushed my way up into her heat.

The moment I was completely sheathed inside of her, the feeling of home washed over me. "I love you, too," Bella replied.

She was reading my mind as we fornicated on our living room couch.

My hands found purchase on her hips to help guide her over me. She was a professional at riding my cock just the right way. She bounced and swiveled her hips until she leaned back and placed her hands on my knees. She then started gyrating her hips faster. That gave me enough room to reach down and rub her clit with my thumb. "Yes, more."

I loved not having to open my mouth to speak; all I had to do was think about what I wanted her to know.

I felt myself grow harder the faster she moved over me. I wanted her all the way on me when I started to cum, so just when I couldn't take it anymore, I grabbed her hips to hold her still and emptied myself deep inside of her. Bella was contracting around me, squeezing my cock, milking me of every last drop. "I'm far from done with you," I said as I looked up to my wife's beautiful face. Her eyes were closed as she breathed heavily above me. Her nipples were hard and pointing toward my face.

A moment later, I wrapped my hands around her ass and took her to our bedroom. I lost count after the third time, but it was like we hadn't had sex in ages. I couldn't get enough of her and as soon as I was finished cumming, I started to get hard again. It was almost insane.

The next day, when I rolled over and saw the time, I freaked out because it was almost noon and I never slept till noon. That was completely unlike me.

I could hear the TV going in the other room, so I stretched my tired limbs. I felt like I ran a marathon the day before, but I knew what it was from. It was definitely a marathon alright; just a marathon of sex.

My leg muscles ached as I moved to get off the bed. Even my arms felt like I'd lifted weights into all hours of the night. My dick was even achy; that wasn't normal.

I stumbled to the bathroom and turned the shower on before I stood over the toilet to piss. My poor dick and balls were hanging down like they were protesting to not function for me.

The hot shower helped loosen up my muscles some, but I still ached as I walked into the living room. My wife sat on the couch with our daughter, nursing her. I didn't say too much, I just wanted to get a glass of ice water and some ibuprofen.

"How'd you sleep?" Bella asked just as I started to fill my glass with water.

I walked around the edge of the breakfast bar to look at her. "I feel like I've been beat to shit." Bella smiled before pulling her lips between her teeth looking guilty. "Bella?"

As soon as I sat down next to her, her face became the poster child for the guiltiest person alive. "What the hell did you do to me?"

"I was just..." Arlo pushed away from her mother's tit so she could look at me. "It was nothing really."

"Nothing? I feel like I've lifted a thousand pounds of weights and my legs feel like I've ran five hundred miles; I'm achy all over." I sat my water on the coffee table before taking my daughter. She immediately snuggled into the crook of my neck.

Bella got up off the couch. "It was an experiment and obviously it worked."

"What kind of experiment? And why the hell did you use it on me?" I started patting Arlo on the back because I knew it was her nap time. She just wanted to go to sleep without listening to her parents bicker.

"Unless you want me fucking some other guy, then yes, I had to use it on you. It was a sexual stimulant. It boosts the endorphins in your system and makes you extra horny." She pulled her lips between her teeth, again. "I feel fine, though, thanks for asking."

"My poor dick is protesting. He almost didn't wanna piss when I got up. He's just hanging there like he has no life left in him." I knew Arlo was asleep, so I got up from the couch even though my muscles protested, to take her to her bed.

As soon as I walked back into the living room, Bella started laughing. "I'm sorry. I promise not to overdo it, next time."

"Bella, we won't be having sex for at least a week." I walked into the kitchen so I could make myself a sandwich. I was starving and needed to get some energy into me.

Bella followed me. "I bet I can help you feel better."

"I think I'm good, right now. I just wanna eat something and relax on the couch." I started to pull the bread and sandwich meat from the fridge. My wife always made sure we had plenty of food in our house.

I moment later, Bella was on her knees in front of me pulling the front of my boxers down. I didn't even bother getting dressed; I wasn't doing anything that involved clothes.

"What the hell are you doing?" She wrapped her hand around my very flaccid cock before she used her tongue to lick around the head. Then I saw her wiggle her fingers on her other hand. "Oh, no, please don't. I'm sore enough as it is."

"Just let me do this and I'll leave you alone." She sucked the head of my cock into her mouth and "POOF" my dick was hard. "That's what I like to see."

She started going to town; sucking, licking and jacking with her other hand. As much as I was hurting, this felt fantastic. My wife and her damn magic. It was obvious she'd been practicing her skill, so hopefully next time she was in the mood for a marathon, she'd let me know beforehand so I could prepare myself.

It didn't take long for me to blow my load and she let me do it in her mouth. Which wasn't something she did all the time. She hated the taste of my cum.

I stood staring at her wondering who the hell this woman was that was in my kitchen sucking my dick. "Who are you and what have you done with my wife?"

Bella smiled. "Oh, I'm your wife, alright. Just did a little magic on myself to get me past the taste of your spooge."

It was my turn to laugh and I did so as I tucked myself back into my boxers and pulled my wife into my arms. "You're something else, you know that?"

"Yes," she said simply. "But you love me anyway."

"I definitely do; more than anything." I pressed my lips to hers even though my dick had just been in her mouth. It didn't bother me because it was between us and we weren't kissing anyone else.

* * *

 **I love these two.**

 **RTB**


	48. Chapter 48

**I apologize for not updating sooner, but I had to buy a new laptop. Lovely, I know. But, let's hope I can get everything back into the up and up. I sure hope so.**

 **I will be posting the rest of the chapters this weekend if nothing keeps me from doing it.**

 **Just a filler chapter until the really good parts are ready to make an appearance.**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns most of the characters I am borrowing. I own all the mistakes.**

 **2/27/18**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 48**

 **BPOV**

* * *

With my mom gone, I was trying to make the best of everything. She had written down a small instruction manuel for me to practice my magic with.

Edward knew but we didn't talk about it and I wasn't exactly keeping it a secret, either. While he was with his instructor, I was at home practicing.

My phone ringing brought me out of my reverie. "Hello..."

"Hi, sweetheart." It was my mother.

"MOM!" I was instantly giddy. "Oh my gosh, Mom."

I heard a small chuckle. "Hi, sweetie. I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to call. I just got off the phone with Phil."

I started to cry from pure happiness. "Are you coming home?"

"I am; just for a few days. There's still some stuff that needs to be dealt with here, but I need to be home to see my family first. Phil and the babies will be coming back with me. It'll only be for a few weeks; a month at the most."

"Why's it taking so long? You were supposed to call a couple of weeks ago." I wiped at my nose with the back of my hand, not really caring at the moment that it was nasty. My mom was finally on the phone and snot on my hand was the least of my worries.

I heard her sigh through the phone. "I know, sweetie. I can't explain over the phone. As soon as I get home, we'll be having everyone over; a family dinner."

"Okay, when? Please tell me soon?" I walked into Arlo's room to check on her real quick. She'd been sleeping for more than an hour, so I wanted to make sure she was okay. She was sleeping with her little butt up in the air.

"It'll be this weekend then we'll be leaving on Tuesday." I heard some shuffling around before she asked me to hold on for a second. I heard her speaking to someone in the background. It was another females voice and it sounded like my mom was giving her intructions to do something.

It was weird hearing her being so professional. "Sorry, sweetie. I needed to make sure Claudine had specific instructions on a few things. She's my assistant."

"Wow, mom; you have an assistant? That's gotta be hard to get used to." I made my way into the kitchen so I could pull some meat out to make dinner for me and Edward.

"Eh..." I could almost see her shrugging her shoulder as she said it. "It took a few days, but now it's like second nature."

I planted my ass on the couch. "Have you talked to Dad?"

"Yes; I know all about the new woman in his life. He'll be bringing her to dinner." I was stunned because I had no clue.

"Woman? I've seen the man three times since you left and I'm hearing through you that daddy has a girlfriend? Oh, that man..."

She giggled. "I know, I'm sorry; I thought you knew."

"No; every time I call him, he's busy with something. Now I know why he's been avoiding me." My heart was breaking just a little because I felt like my dad was keeping his new girlfriend a secret.

"He's not avoiding you, honey. We'll all get to meet her this weekend. From how your dad describes her, she sounds really nice." Then she sighed again. "You gotta keep an open mind, though, okay? Your dad has himself a younger woman."

I groaned. "Please tell me she's at least older than me? I don't think I can handle him dating a girl that's my age."

"She's in her late twenties and that's all I'm telling you."

"Fine," I relented. "What time will you be getting in? I wanna make sure I'm at the house when you get there. And I'll make dinner."

"That sounds great, honey. I'll be getting in around four, but listen, I gotta get off the phone so I can finish up a few more things before I head to dinner here. I'm about four hours ahead you and I have to be prompt getting to dinner. It's a big deal here."

"Okay, mom; I love you."

"I love you, too, baby girl, and I'll see you in a couple of days. Kiss that grand-daughter of mine for me, please?"

"I will; see you then." I ended the call. I wasn't saying good-bye for anything. It was bad luck...simple as that.

I sat and pondered for a few minutes. My mom was someone important. Not only to her family, but to a lot of other people, too. They needed her guidance and happiness to support them. If there was anyone to do the job she has, then it's her.

I was in the middle of stirring the soup I was making for our dinner. Potato soup with diced smoked sausage. I'd made it before and Edward made sure there wasn't anything left over. He loved smothering his with cheese and scooping it out with french bread or sourdough.

He blames me for the few pounds he's gained since we've been married.

The rattle of keys were heard at the door before it opened. In walked my very sexy husband and his Murse. It's a man purse, if you're wondering. He keeps all his important stuff in there for work.

I felt his arms snake around me and heard the scream of our daughter. She must've seen him when he came in. She's sitting in her bouncy seat watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Everytime they sing, she bounces like crazy in her seat.

Edward's lips made contact with my neck before he gave me a good suck, a grope between the legs then he went to our daughter. "My mom called today."

He came around the breakfast bar with Arlo in his arms. She was smacking at his face with one hand and pulling at his lips with the other. "Oh, yeah; It's about time she called. Is she coming home?"

"She'll be home this weekend. Friday as a matter of fact. I told her I'd be there and make dinner for everyone, so when you get off work, just head over there." I moved the soup off the stove and brought it to our small table. I tip-toed up and kissed my husband hello before I finished setting everything else out.

"Is she home for good?" Edward watched every move I made as I walked back and forth from the fridge to the table.

I took Arlo from him so he could sit down. She was finally sitting in her highchair and loved it. "No; unfortunately, but Phil and the twins will be leaving with her on Tuesday. She said they'd only be gone no more than a month."

"That's good, I guess." Edward started scooping out soup for the both of us before he started tearing at the loaf of french bread. I liked changing up the bread every now and then. "Maybe we should offer to watch the twins or see if Emmett will. Just for one night. I know your parents probably want some alone time to get caught up; if you know what I mean."

I chuckled. "I know what you mean and I'll mention it to Emmett on Friday when I get there. I'm heading over a little early so I can get dinner started."

"Have you seen my mom today?" Edward asked before he shoveled a heaping spoonful of his dinner into his mouth.

"No; was I supposed to?" I placed a few small pieces of bread on Arlo's tray. She was learning to use her fingers and doing a pretty damn good job of it, too. She's definitely way advanced.

Edward put his hand over his mouth. "Dad said she was bringing some clothes over for Arlo. A lady she works with brought about four bags of clothes for us."

"That's nice of her and helpful. I'm putting away the clothes little bit grows out of to save for Alice's baby. She says she's having a girl too, so Arlo's hand-me-downs would be perfect for her."

The women in our family were taking over...one by one. I hope that our next baby will be a boy for Edwards sake.

Once Arlo was bathed, nursed and put to bed by 8 o'clock, Edward and I cuddled on the couch to watch the last episode of Game of Thrones. We were finally caught up and ready to binge watch another show. I already had one in mind _._ _ **The Fall**_ _._

The next couple of days dragged by. I knew it was because I was excited for my mom to be home. I had called Phil the night before and told him I would be over as soon as Arlo woke up from her nap. I wasn't making anything too extravagant; just some pulled pork for sandwiches with baked potatoes and some pasta salads. Just something quick and easy.

Alice and Jasper were coming, too. She wanted to share with me the wedding details and it would be happening as soon as my mom was home for good. So, that meant within the next few weeks. It was all too surreal because they were already moved in together. She stops by a few days a week so she can get her Arlo fix and hang out with me for a little bit. She seems so happy and that's just the way I hoped it would be for her. Too bad she wouldn't let me past her wall to hear what's going on in her head.

That would be cheating; just the same as her seeing my future. Thankfully nothing's came up that was way too important. We've promised not to keep stuff from each other and I hoped it stayed that way. She swears that her pregnancy has stopped her visions all together because she hadn't had one in months.

I was at my parents' house by one. Emmett had gone out the night before and picked up the stuff I needed. I only needed to dump the pulled pork into a crock pot to get it hot and ready to eat once everyone was here.

When I walked in the door, I could hear the babies laughing. It was so precious to see Emmett with them. He was exactly what my parents needed.

"Hello!" I called from the entry way. "Big sissy's here!"

When I stepped into the living room, I couldn't help the belly of laughter that escaped me. "What in the world?"

Emmett was dressed in some goofy looking outfit complete with a blonde wig, a huge red nose and plastic windmills attached to the top of his head. He wasn't exactly a clown, but close to it.

"Oh, hey," Emmett said as he stood from his kneeling position. Now I knew why the babies loved him so much. "Just keeping the munchkins occupied."

"No, go ahead. Don't let me keep you from my, I mean, their amusement." I walked over and put Arlo on the floor with her Aunt and Uncle. They were waving their arms in the air and kicking their legs.

"I got the crockpot out for you and made some pasta salad already," Emmett said. "I hope that helps out."

My eyes grew wide. "I didn't know you could cook."

He chuckled. "When you've been around as long as I have, you learn to cook especially if you're on your own and I was for a few years."

I wanted to ask him questions about Anthony, but I figured I'd save it for another day. Maybe after my mom and Phil leave with the babies.

"Well, that's nice to know. You okay watching little bit while I get started in the kitchen?" I put my purse on the sofa table along with my keys.

Emmett jiggled his body and made a weird noise. "I've got this B; we're all good."

I took Emmett at his word and made my way into the kitchen. It had been a while since I cooked on these surfaces. Thankfully, I remembered where everything was.

All the stuff for the sandwiches were laying out on the counter, so all I needed to do was get the pulled pork in the crock pot. That was only going to take me a few minutes, so after that, it was getting the potatoes in to bake and scurrying up the ingredients to make a peach cobbler for dessert. I was using the fresh peaches that Emmett got and there will be vanilla ice cream to go with it.

After an hour or so in the kitchen, I poked my head into the living room to see what was going on. I didn't hear any giggles or shuffles, but when I walked into the room, Emmett had all three of the babies and their full attention as he sat reading them a book. He was making all the noises and everything that went along with the story. This man was definitely going to be a great dad.

Around three Phil arrived home and rushed upstairs to take a shower. He looked like he'd been working in a lot of grease today. I didn't realize that was what he did now that he wasn't playing baseball anymore.

When he was done, he gave me a proper hug and kiss on the cheek then made his way into the living room while I finished up everything in the kitchen. There wasn't much left to do; I just wanted it all done by the time mom arrived so no one had to sit around and wait to eat.

About a quarter till four, everybody that was a part of our family decided to show up at the same time. Even Edward and Carlisle. I wasn't expecting them until after five.

Me and Alice went to the kitchen to sit at the small table and go over some of the plans she has for her wedding. She wants one much bigger than what Edward and I had. She's a little more on the materialistic side than I am. I couldn't fault her for that, though. I still loved her no matter what and Alice wouldn't be Alice without wanting more for herself. Jasper just sat back and let her do all the planning. All he had to do was put a suit on and be on time.

Everyone else went into the living room and waited for my mom to arrive. Marcus and Claire were fawning over the babies while everyone else sat back and watched.

Four o'clock came and went then four thirty. She still hadn't called and we were starting to get worried.

When five fifteen hit, I was about to go out of my skin until we heard the front door open. "I'm here! I'm here!"

Everyone jumped up to meet her. Of course, they moved aside to give room for her husband. They hugged and kissed then hugged again. Mom was hugging Phil so tight he would have turned blue, but he wouldn't want it any other way.

When Emmett walked up with the twins with me right behind him, the dam burst and I couldn't keep the tears from falling. She took both babies and started kissing them all over their faces. They didn't like it too much, but their mother was home and they remembered her. That was my biggest worry.

As soon as she was done loving on her little babies, she came to me and Arlo. She hugged us just as tight and smooched all over our faces. I didn't care one bit...she's my mother and I'd take her any way I could get her.

"I'm so sorry I'm late. There was a flight delay because of a storm. I would have called, but I haven't had a cell phone since I left here." She started with Esme and made her way around the room greeting everyone. Jacob was even in attendance, but my dad still hadn't shown up, yet. I was sure he'd arrive soon enough.

"We're just glad you're home," Esme said.

Mom handed the babies off to Esme and Phil then she turned to Emmett. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a tight hug, as well. Her tears were falling now. "I can't thank you enough for being here for my family."

"We're all family," Emmett said. "There's no need to thank me."

Then I heard the door open, again. "Hello!"

It was finally my dad, so I made my way around everyone so I could get to him. Edward was right behind me as I came to a stop in front of him. "It's about time you got here. I haven't seen you in ages."

"I know, baby girl; I'm sorry. I've been pretty busy with work." He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a good squeeze. "Hey, I wanna introduce you to Susan." I stuck my head around my dad's shoulder and I was happy, but not surprised to see this absolutely beautiful woman standing by the doorway.

Susan was definitely younger than my dad by about ten years, it seems. And she was black or at least mixed. She had light milk chocolate skin and her eyes were a mesmerizing greenish blue. I really couldn't describe the color any other way. "Hello," she said, extending her hand. "It's finally nice to meet you. Your dad talks about you a lot."

"There's no hand shaking here." I wrapped my arms around her. "We like to hug."

After a brief hug, I pulled away to get a good look at her. "Where's my dad been hiding you?"

"I haven't been hiding her. We've just been busy; she works down at the precinct." My dad took two steps toward Susan and wrapped his arm around her lower back. "I figured with your mom coming home I thought this would be a great time to introduce her to everyone, and don't worry, she knows all about us."

"Oh, really? And none of it freaks you out?" Edward draped his arm over my shoulders and kissed the side of my head. "This is my husband Edward; Edward this is my dad's girlfriend Susan."

Edward shook her hand then stepped back. "It's great to meet you. Come on in. Bella's cooked up some food for everyone."

We walked back toward everyone else. "Dinner's ready if anyone wants to eat."

I had set everything up like a buffet and it took no time at all before everyone was sitting down to eat. It was like my mom hadn't even left.

* * *

 **The rest of the story will be this weekend. There's about eight more chapters left.**

 **See you this weekend.**

 **RTB**


	49. Chapter 49

******This chapter is accompanied by a nice juicy lemon.******

 **Sorry I didn't get started sooner on the updates. I was hoping to get the rest of the story posted this weekend, but I got busy with come cleaning that needed to be done after all the rain we've gotten over the last week or so.**

 **I hope you like it.**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns most of the characters I'm using and all mistakes are my own.**

 **3/4/2018**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 49**

 **EPOV**

* * *

I didn't think we were ever going to leave Bella's parents' house. It was great seeing everyone all together, again and Charlie showing up with his new girlfriend was definitely something to talk about. I don't think Bella shut up when we got home.

Bella had more energy than I've ever seen before. She wiped down everything in the kitchen even though it was already spotless. I wasn't sure what was making her buzz around so much. "Bella, why don't you come sit with me and we can watch that show you've been talking about."

"I'll be right there. I just have one more shelf to reorganize; I'm almost done." She sounded like she was nowhere near tired. I could fall asleep as we speak and sleep all night with no problem at all.

"Just leave it, babe. You can finish it tomorrow." I was already dressed for bed in a pair of basketball shorts. I even brought a couple of pillows from our room to get comfortable. If she didn't join me in five minutes, I'll be dragging my ass to the bedroom to watch TV.

I waited another ten minutes and went to our room without even telling her. She had her head stuck in overdrive and I was the farthest from her mind.

On the way to our room, I checked on Arlo. We were lucky to have such a wonderful baby. She'd been sleeping all night for a little while now and we were very thankful for it. We didn't want to be the kind of parents that let their kids sleep in the bed with them because I knew if that happened, we'd never have our bed to ourselves.

Once I was in bed, I got comfortable and clicked the TV on. Today was a little overwhelming for everyone, so I figured that was the reason Bella was hopping around the house like she was on speed or something. I knew she wasn't on drugs, but her actions were making me question whether something else was going on. I had never seen her act this way before...ever.

Bella zipped through our room and into our closet. I heard a few things get banged around and waited a few minutes before I finally had enough, so I got out of bed and stood in front of the open door of our closet. I watched her for a few minutes. She was rearranging our shoes, then she started moving clothes around. "Bella?"

It was as if she didn't hear me; she just kept moving stuff around. She was putting stuff together by color.

I was done watching this crap, so I stepped into the closet and wrapped my arms around her to make her stop. "Will you please stop for five damn minutes?"

"I can't; this needs to be done. It should've been done months ago." She tried to pull my arms away from her, but I wasn't budging for anything.

"Stop," I said sternly. "What is wrong with you?"

She tried to push my arms away, again, but I wasn't relenting one bit ."I'm not letting you go until you tell me what the hell is wrong with you."

A moment later, it was like someone pulled the plug out of an air mattress. Bella sagged against me and started crying. "I feel like I'm losing my mind."

I turned her around so I could look at her beautiful face. "What's going on? Why do you feel that way?"

"I feel like I'm never gonna see my mom again after she leaves, or the twins and Phil, too. I feel like this is the last hours that we'll ever see them. I've been trying to keep myself busy so I wouldn't think about it, but it's not working, so I try something different and that's not working. I don't know what to do."

She wrapped her arms around me and cried into my chest. "Let's go lay down and we'll talk some more. You're making me tired watching you buzz through the house the way you are."

We made it to the bed where Bella started stripping out of her clothes. "I'll be right back."

I went into the kitchen and got a glass of water then made sure the door was locked and the lights were out before I made my way back to your bedroom. Bella was just climbing under the blanket when I walked back into the room.

The TV was still on, but paused on the movie I was watching. The glow from the TV was all the light I had because Bella had turned the bedside light off.

As soon as I slipped under the blanket, Bella slid over to my side and draped her leg over mine. I could feel her pussy against my upper thigh and I knew this was going to be a hard conversation to have with her heat so close to me. "You ready to tell me what's going on or do I have to guess?"

"I'm just scared; I'm afraid I'll never see my mom again if she leaves, but I know she has to; she's important to a whole different civilization. She has so many people counting on her and not just her immediate family." She rubbed her hand over my chest and stopped over my nipple. She started rubbing small circles around it making it pebble.

"Don't you think that if your mom thought it was too dangerous to take Phil and the twins with her that she'd even think about it? You're mom's smarter than that. You gotta give her that much credit. I don't think she would have ever taken her rightful spot as the Queen if she thought it was." My arm was under her head and wrapped over her shoulder. I, lightly, rubbed my thumb over her skin.

Bella started softly pinching at my nipple and I tried my damnedest to ignore it because my dick was getting hard. I knew she could feel it growing against the top of her leg. "I know. Maybe I'm just being overly paranoid. I've been away from her before for more than a year and I was fine."

"I'm sure you were, and I'm not trying to screw with your head more, but at that time, you had no clue she was a Fae Queen let alone know that you're part Fae." I gripped her shoulder and pulled her closer so I could kiss the top of her head. "Everything's going to be fine. You have to have faith that your mom knows what she's doing. She wouldn't let anything happen to her family. She said everything was taken care of that concerned your grandparents being killed. You have to trust her."

Bella sighed heavily. "I know and I shouldn't be feeling this way. I'm just really antsy." I felt Bella's mouth over my other nipple before she gave it a little suck. I wasn't sure where she was taking this, but if she kept rubbing and sucking on me, it was about to go a whole lot further.

I knew she could feel that I was completely hard now, and when she moved the blanket out of the way and scooted down my body where she was hovering her face over my shorts covered cock, I was anxious to let her have her way with me.

A moment later, she gripped the hem of my basketball shorts and started easing them down over my hips. I raised my ass to give her a little help.

My dick smacked against my stomach once she had my shorts down , on their way to being completely off. "Will you help me get rid of some of this adrenaline?"

She gripped my dick and licked over my slit then giving the head a little suck. "It would be my pleasure."

I hoped if I sexed her up real good, she'd tire out and hopefully get her mind away from her fears.

Bella licked up and down my shaft until she licked further down and took one of my balls into her mouth. I moved my legs open wider, giving her enough room to function over me. "Mmm...that feels good, baby."

She eventually climbed over the top of me placing her knees on each side of my hips.

She leaned over me and stared into my eyes. "I'm so horny," she said just as she pressed her lips to mine. I opened my mouth let her tongue seek mine.

I raised my hips to push into her, hoping she'd get the hint that I needed her heat to surround me. "Baby?"

She started kissing along my jaw and down my neck where she sucked my skin between her luscious lips.

I wasn't waiting anymore, so I reached down and grasped my cock to rub the head along her slippery opening. With my other hand, I pushed down on her hip and slipped inside of her.

Bella sat up sinking down on me all the way. "Oh, sweet mother of all that's holy."

"Ride me, baby." She leaned back and braced her hands on my shins as she started thrusting back and forth over my cock. It felt abso-fucking-lutely fantastic.

I felt the energy spike within me and started thrusting up into her. We had a perfect rhythm going and just fucked, and fucked and fucked for hours. I knew Bella was using her juju shit on me again, but I didn't care. My wife needed the distraction and this was working. I couldn't get deep enough inside her.

She was really putting her magic to work as I felt the back of my thighs starting to burn, so I sat up and switched our positions. She was now on her back with her feet on my shoulders. I drove into her as hard as I could.

I slowed my movements by swiveling my hips. I wanted her from behind and in her ass if I could get away with it.

Before I asked, I wanted her on all fours where I'd have better access, so I pulled out and swatted the side of her hip. "On your knees and face down, baby. I wanna see your tasty ass."

She giggled as she flipped over, sticking her ass up and her chest to the mattress. I rubbed my hands over her ass cheeks and admired how sweet she felt under my hands. My thumb grazed over her hole. She didn't tense up, so I did it again before I slipped two of my fingers inside her pussy to get them wet with her juices.

I used my wet fingers and tested the waters, again. Still, she didn't tense up. "Can I have you here?"

Bella pushed her ass back toward me was answer enough, so I used the same fingers and got them wet again before I eased my middle finger into her ass. I needed her to relax more, so I pushed my cock back inside her pussy and slowly pumped my hips. Each time I thrusted, I followed the same pace with my finger. I knew she was feeling good by the way she moaned from the pleasure.

I leaned over her back and with my other hand, I cupped her tit and gave it a small squeeze. "Raise up, baby."

My finger slipped from her ass and my cock from her pussy as she raised up. Her back was now flush against me. I kissed along her neck and up to her ear. "You know how sexy you are to me?"

"Tell me," she whispered.

I eased my hand down over her stomach where I found her clit slick from her arousal. As I rubbed her in small circles, I started telling her how I truly felt about her.

"You're the only woman I ever see; you're the only woman that gets my dick hard as steel; the only woman that has my heart and soul in the palm of her hands; the only woman that I need for the rest of my life; the only woman that sets me on fire every time we make love; the only woman I need to continue having babies with; the only woman I can't live without. I love you with my whole heart and soul, Bella Cullen."

"I love you, too, Edward. You're my everything. You're the part of me that I can't live without." She raised her hands and slipped them around my neck. My hands found her plump, rounded breasts and started massaging them. I pinched her nipples lightly, not wanting her milk to come out too much. "I need you inside me more."

I kissed her neck then pressed my hand to the middle of her back to urge her over. As I looked at her ass, my vision started to get a little blurry and I became light headed. I squeezed my eyes shut hoping they'd clear, but when I opened them, all I could feel was myself falling back as everything faded away.

* * *

 **Oh, SNAP! Any guesses of what happened?**

 **RTB**


	50. Chapter 50

**No copy right infringement is intended. All mistakes are my own and SM owns most of the characters in my story.**

 **3/4/2018**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 50**

 **BPOV**

* * *

I felt the bed bounce a little before I turned around to see what was going on. Edward was being too quiet and he wasn't touching me anymore.

When I turned around, he was laying back on the bed, but his legs were bent underneath him like he just fell where he was kneeling.

I crawled over the top of him to see what was going on. "Edward? This isn't exactly a time for you to fall asleep."

I expected some sort of grunt, but there wasn't any, so I shook him a little to wake him. "Edward? How can you be comfortable laying like that? You're legs have to be hurting."

His erection was completely gone and his arms were lying next to him as if he passed out, so I moved over the bed and pulled his legs from underneath him. Even his legs were heavy as bricks.

"Edward, this isn't funny," I said as I reached for my night shirt and some underwear from my drawer.

The blanket was pushed to the end of the bed, so I pulled it up over him. He still hadn't moved a muscle as I jostled the bed around.

I patted his cheek. "Edward?" I could see his chest rising and falling, but at a slow pace, and when I placed my ear over his heart, it wasn't beating normal, either. "Edward, please? This isn't funny."

I shook him more, but this time a little harsher. "Dammit, Edward, wake the fuck up!"

The panic started to set in. I didn't know what was going on and as hard as I shook him, he should have woken up.

I didn't know what to do; I didn't know who to call. Panic was five seconds away from being full force, so I tried one more time to smack his face and shake him. "Edward, please? You're scaring me, please wake up."

The tears started to sting the corners of my eyes as I looked at his handsome face. His eyes weren't even moving under his eyelids. I stretched out beside him and brought my face really close to his as I pressed my lips to his and spoke, again. "Baby, please? Edward, what's wrong?"

When he didn't respond for more than five minutes, I went for my phone. "Esme, I need you. Edward passed out and I can't get him to wake up. I don't know what's going on."

 _"Give me a minute to put my robe on. I'll be right there,"_ she replied before ending our call.

I did the same and slipped a robe on before checking on Arlo. She was still fast asleep then I went to unlock the door so Esme could just walk in.

I was pacing the living room when I heard the door quietly shut. "Bella?"

I turned to see Esme and Carlisle in their robes. "Oh, God, Esme." I wrapped my arms around her. "I can't figure out what's wrong."

She released me but kept her hand on my forearm. "Is he in the bedroom?"

I nodded and started for our room. Edward was still in the same exact spot as when I covered him up. Carlisle placed his arm over my shoulders and kissed the side of my head. "He'll be okay. We'll figure this out then he'll be back to himself."

"I hope so. This just happened so fast. There were no warnings that he was sick or even not feeling well." I turned my face into his chest and hugged my father in-law.

Esme rubbed her hand over Edward's head then over his chest. I wasn't sure what she was doing, but the look on her face wasn't good. "Carli, call Mr. Worley and Bella, you call Claire. I need them. Something pulled Edward under. He's in a coma."

My heart felt like it hit the bottom of my stomach. "A coma? How could this...?"

I knew I didn't know any better than Esme, but I did know that with Claire, Marcus and Mr. Worley, they'd figure out what was holding my husband hostage in his own body.

An hour later, there were people everywhere in my living room. I didn't call Alice because she didn't need the added stress. I did call my dad, though. I needed someone who I could lean on. My mom had her own worries to deal with and I didn't want to drag her into anything more than she needed. She was leaving in three days, so I wanted to give her as much needed peace and quiet that she could get.

Mr. Worley was trying everything he could possibly think of to bring Edward around. Nothing was working, and I still sat next to my husband as they tried over and over with every possible thing that was supposed to work; still no response.

Arlo woke not long after the sun came up. As I sat in our room, right next to my husband, I nursed her. Everyone had left the room to give us some privacy. I had picked up Edward's hand and held it to my chest as I fed our daughter. She had no clue what was going on with her daddy; no one did.

The day came that my mother was leaving with Phil and the twins. I strapped Arlo into her car seat and headed to my parents house to say our farewells. I was going to miss her so much, but my head and heart were with my husband.

I never said a word to them as they packed up the car. We hugged and shed tears, and Edward was mentioned once. I said he had to be to work early because he was having to oversee a shipment of truck parts coming into the garage. She understood and sent a hug for him through me.

I kissed the twins and hugged Phil. He'd been my shoulder to lean on more times than I could count and I would miss him just as much. Carlisle secured his job while he was gone so he knew he had employment when they came home. Who knew how long that was going to be. Mom said a few weeks, but something told me it would be longer; way longer than we all expect.

Emmett was beside himself. Kissing the twins and hugging on them to say goodbye was killing him. As much as my mom wanted him to go, he just couldn't. Vampires were frowned upon where they were going. But he was staying in my parents' house while they were gone to make sure everything was kept on the up and up. Carlisle had given him a mechanic position to keep him busy and I knew his mind would never be far from Piper and Jackson. They had become so close to each other; he's like an Uncle or even a big brother.

My dad and his girlfriend, Susan, had come to say goodbye as well. I was glad he was there and thankful he didn't say anything to my mom about Edward. She needed to take care of the other part of her life before she could worry about her daughter.

As my dad pulled my mother to the side to talk to her with some privacy, Susan sat next to me on the couch. She reached her hand out toward Arlo in hopes she'd reach for her. It didn't work, of course. My daughter was very picky with who she let hold her. Arlo was more interested in staring at her hand and her face. I was sure she was trying to figure out who was sitting next to her mommy.

"She's beautiful," Susan said. "She has a perfect mixture of you and your husband."

"Thank you," I said as Arlo started smacking at my hand. "I think she looks more like her daddy."

Susan gave me a little smile before she encouraged conversation. "Your mom will be fine. She seems like a very strong woman."

"She is; she's the strongest person I know. I hope they don't stay gone too long. This whole Seelie Queen thing still hasn't sank into my head. I still sometimes need her and this takes her away from me when I need her the most." I didn't want to start crying, again. I knew it would happen, but I was trying my hardest to keep a brave face on. I couldn't let on that something other than my mother leaving was bothering me.

We sat in silence for a few minutes as Susan finally got Arlo to take one of her fingers. "Say hi to Susan, Arlo. She's Pop-pop Charlie's friend."

Susan gave me a toothy grin. "You can call me Sue. You're dad's always so formal, sometimes and it drives me insane."

I cracked my first smile in more than three days. "That's my dad for you. He seems to really care about you. I can tell by the way he looks at you."

As we sat there, I opened my mind to listen into hers. I wasn't sure if my dad told her about my mind reading capability, but it was worth the try.

I could hear her loud and clear as she admired how beautiful Arlo is and how much she loved my dad and that she was pregnant but hasn't told him. She was afraid to push him away because they had only been dating for a few months. She thought that her being pregnant would put a big damper on their relationship. She was, also, worried that I'd think she was too young for my dad, but little did she know, she was perfect for him, and perfect to give my dad more children. He was a great dad even with is extensive work load.

Not one piece of negativity came from this woman's mind and it made me feel even better that my dad has someone like her in his life even though she's ten years my dad's junior. I didn't care how old she was just as long as she made my dad happy.

"You should tell him," I said gaining a look of confusion from her. "You can tell him you love him. He'll say it back because my dad loves you, too, and he'll be happy about the baby."

"How did you...?" She trailed off as she tried to gain the answer herself.

I gave her another small smile. "I'm surprised my dad hasn't told you."

She shook her head. "I'm at a loss of words. It's like you knew exactly what I was just thinking. It was like you could..." She released a chuckle. "You can read minds, can't you?"

"I can and I promise not to invade your brain again, unless you ask me to. I've learned how to block everyone out. I'm sorry for doing it now, but I needed to know if you were serious about my dad. I didn't get much else except a few things you thought about Arlo. She really is the best baby."

"I promise to tell him soon. You need to be his top priority, right now. My news can wait a little while longer." She gave my hand a small squeeze.

I raised my arm to wrap it around her shoulders to hug her. "Thank you for being so understanding."

"No problem at all. I've never met such amazing people. You're all different, that's for sure, but amazing."

We smiled at each other then turned our attention to little bit. She had turned in my lap like she wanted to nurse, but she needed to wait a few more minutes as my mom came to stand in front of me then took Arlo. She kissed her all over her face. "You be a good girl for your mommy and daddy and Nana will bring you a present home in a few weeks."

"She doesn't need any presents, Mom. We just want you to come home safe and sound when you've got everything taken care of." I stood from where I was sitting to allow my mom to pull me into a one armed hug. "Please hurry? The next time you come home, I hope it's for good."

"Me, too, sweetie, and I promise I'll work as fast as I can. There's just more political stuff that needs to be handled and I need to find the right person to care for things while I'm here at home. I have an assistant, but she's not qualified for any of the mumbo jumbo that I have to deal with on a daily basis."

I shook my head. "Sounds like you're the president and you're electing a vice president."

"That's pretty much what it is." She kissed the side of my head. "C'mon; walk us out. We need to be heading to the airport."

Then she turned back to Sue. "C'mon, you're a part of this family now, too."

It was great that they seemed to be getting along. My parents were more like best friends and valued each other's opinions. My mom loved Sue and thought she was perfect for my dad just as much as I did.

After a lengthy farewell, they drove away with more tears streaking my face. My dad wrapped his arm over my shoulder. "Don't worry, I didn't say anything to her. I know you didn't want her to have any more unwarranted stress."

"I know, and I hope it truly does only take a few weeks for her to sort things out." We started walking back into the house where Emmett was picking up all the baby stuff that was put on the floor for the twins and Arlo. "Hey, I need to get home."

Emmett stopped what he was doing and came to hug me. "If you don't mind, I'd like to come hang with you at your place sometime. I'm gonna be so bored here all by myself. I can only do so many laps around the pool."

"I may need your help. Something's happened and I couldn't tell my mom because she'd delay leaving and she needed to get back." Emmett took Arlo from me so I could get her bag ready. "If you can come home with me now, I'll tell you what's going on. Marcus and Claire are at my place waiting on me."

Emmett gave me a confused look then he glanced toward my dad. "You can ride with us. I can drop you off later," dad said as he started toward the door. "We're headed that way now."

"I'll lock up." I still had a key to the house and all the security codes were still the same. My mom wanted to make sure I always had a place to go if I needed to.

As soon as I got home, I needed to get Arlo down for a nap. She'd been too excited to be around her Aunt and Uncle. It was so cute to watch them play together. They'll all be walking before we know it. They were already trying to crawl. Arlo's doctor was very surprised at how much she'd grown and learned in the few short months since she was born. Any month since she was born has been short. Time was going way too fast.

I got myself comfortable in Arlo's room in the glider rocker. She was already starting to nod off as she sucked away at my nipple. I loved having a baby. Being able to nurture her this way was calming to me as well as her when she was upset. I could tell she could sense something was going on because she hadn't seen her daddy. He hasn't been able to love on her like he does every day.

Something was keeping my husband from his family. My heart broke open more and more every day when he didn't open his beautiful eyes. His heart rate and breathing stayed the same. He hasn't had any eye movement and I was really starting to worry. I wanted Marcus to check him into the hospital to run an MRI on him to see if there was any kind of activity or illness that was keeping him from us, but Marcus could sense it. He said all the activity is there and considering Edward was breathing on his own and his heart was beating normally, all we had to do was wait. They had attached oxygen and saline IV's to him and slipped a feeding tube up his nose that went into his stomach. Marcus said they might have to give him a Picc line if he stayed in a coma much longer. Seeing Edward with all those tubes coming out of him, broke my heart even more.

I heard a small tap on the door and Esme walked in the room. She perched herself on her knees in front of me to look at her granddaughter. "She's so peaceful, right now."

The tears started forming. I didn't want them to fall, but I knew I couldn't hold back anymore. "What am I gonna do if he doesn't wake up? Does he stay here and I keep hoping we'll find out why he's like this?"

"We're working on it, sweetie." She placed the palm of her hand on my cheek. "You know we are. We're doing everything we can. We've pulled out all the material that might have the answer because we've never seen anything like this before. Even in all the years that Marcus and Claire have been around, they're at a loss, themselves."

Arlo decided at that moment to release a little gas and broke the tension. "She's definitely her father's daughter."

When the days started turning into weeks I had to find stuff to keep myself busy. I made sure to bring Arlo into my room so she could sit with her daddy for a little while. I read to her while we visited. She was getting used to taking her naps next to Edward. She seemed more at peace that way. At night, when I climbed into bed next to him, I couldn't help but snuggle up and lay my head on his chest.

I talked to him and told him about my day and how much Arlo was learning. She'd already learned how to get up on her knees to crawl. We didn't celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas was just around the corner. This was Arlo's first Christmas and if Edward didn't wake up soon, we'd miss another holiday without him. Mom had finally called and said it would be a few more weeks. She hoped to be home by Christmas, but definitely by the new year.

Claire and Mr. Worley had come across a few things that turned out to be dead ends. That was until three days before Christmas when my dad came to tell me that Anthony was completely in a mummified state. He'd been that way for a little over a month; he was being put in a coffin and put to rest with his family. That sounded like the most logical thing to do. I'd want the same thing.

Then when my dad was talking to Carlisle about how mu Edward and I have grown up over the last year or so and how much of a hard time we had in the beginning with Anthony. As soon as my dad said something about Edward being Anthony's doppelganger, Mr. Worley burst out with an "AHH HAA" moment.

We looked at him like he'd lost his mind before he pulled another book out and started flipping through the pages. "You said that Edward's Anthony's doppelganger; his ghostly double?"

"Yes," I replied. "They're practically identical."

"And Anthony's a vampire?" He came to a stop on a page and started skimming over the words. "This has to be it."

The seven other people that were in the room said "What" in unison.

We all gave each other a smile before my dad got up and walked to the table. Sue was still working. She worked in the same department as my dad, but she was on a different case. "What's going on, Devon?"

All this time I had only known him as Mr. Worley. Who knew he actually had a first name?

Emmett had taken Arlo out for a little while to meet up with her Auntie Alice to do some baby clothes shopping and picking out some more stuff for her wedding. It was just about all ready. We just needed Edward awake and my mom home.

Alice knew about Edward and sat with him a few days a week and talked to him. She even tried to see if any visions came to her. There was nothing but blackness. She freaked out and it took a few days for her to calm down. Emmett and Jasper kept her busy as much as possible. She figured it was her pregnancy that was keeping her from having visions.

"There's only ever been one other case like this which was over a hundred years ago." Mr. Worley kept skimming over the words. "From what this says, if ones double becomes incapacitated or debilitated in any way could also cause the other to experience the same circumstances." He stood from the table and stepped in front of my dad. "You said he's been mummified for a few weeks now?"

"Yeah; he refused any kind of food or blood. He'd fallen into a deep depression because of all the stuff he'd done. He was more torn up over taking Bella when she was pregnant. He thought that if her baby was a boy, he'd be born another Warlock and he was completely against witches and Warlocks; he's hated them for years; even killed them because of his hatred and he wanted to kill Bella's baby."

A huge smile spread across his face. "You need to feed him; he needs blood. That's the only way we'll get Edward to wake up. When Anthony's body completely depleted the blood he already had, that's when Edward fell into his coma. He was experiencing the same fate as his double."

My eyes grew as wide as saucers. "LET'S GO! Take me to him, right now!" I was being a demanding git, but I wanted my husband back.

"Now, hold on just a minute. There has to be another way. Anthony wants to be the way he is. He's lying in a damn coffin in some crypt. Marcus and Claire felt it best for him to rest that way." My dad was bound and determined to seek a different solution.

"What!" I exclaimed. "Where is he? I don't care if he's in the ground or kept in a storage unit, I need him here. We can't wait any longer. I want my husband back and Arlo needs her father."

Marcus came to stand next to me. "Sweetheart, it's gonna take a day or so because we had him flown to Ireland where he's in a crypt with his family."

"No, he needs to be here. I need to be the one to give him blood and wake him up. He always said my blood was a delicacy to him; he'd never tasted anything like it before."

Claire spoke up next. "It's because you're Fae. Human life or life in general is more important to Me, Marcus and Emmett, so that's why we've never tried to feed from you."

"Okay. Thank you, I guess, but we need to get Anthony back here."

"Look," my dad said. "Why don't we make a trip of it? I know this isn't the time for a vacation, but I've never been to Ireland, so if we all went, even Edward, we can..."

"Let's do it; I'm all for it. Call Alice and Emmett and tell them to get home. We'll leave as soon as possible." I turned to Marcus. "Is there a way we can get a hospital bed to take Edward in? Maybe even a wheelchair?"

Mr. Worley closed his book before he spoke. "I can handle that. My family actually has their own jet that can get us there and I can get a car to pick us up once we arrive. It'll all be taken care of; you just get packed."

Everyone in the room gave him odd looks. "And we're just finding out right now that your family has a jet?" Claire asked. "We've known you for years and you never said anything about...well, having money."

Mr. Worley shrugged his shoulder. "It's not something I like to brag about."

From that moment on, everyone went into action getting everything set up. Alice, Emmett, Japer and Arlo came barreling through the door. "We're here!"

I did a rush job of packing for my small family. I had to make sure to bring some clothes for Edward too, because he'd need them once he wakes up.

By seven that evening we were boarded on a private jet, with Edward strapped to a hospital bed in the back of the plane. I sat as close to him as possible. I had to keep Arlo in my lap because as soon as the plane was in the air, I would need to nurse her. She was already grumpy as it was and I could barely pull her off Edward when we first got on the plane. She just wanted to lay next to her daddy, but her mean mommy wouldn't let her.

* * *

 **This even makes me nervous and I wrote it.**

 **RTB**


	51. Chapter 51

**No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns most of the characters I have borrowed and any mistakes you find are my own.**

 **FYI: I don't know if there's a castle in Dublin, but in my story, there is. And it's grand and beautiful.**

 **3/4/2018**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 51**

 **BPOV**

* * *

I hated being so impatient about everything lately. It seemed like our flight was taking forever. First, after takeoff, just after three hours, we had to land in New York to refuel. That took us close to an hour then we were delayed because there was a storm coming through that they wanted mostly out of the way before we took flight, again. Luckily, Arlo was sleeping the entire time.

After we left New York, we had another seven to eight hour flight. I was thankful we were on a private jet because Arlo decided she wanted to throw the mother of all fits. Just about everyone took a turn to try and console her.

As soon as I walked into the room where her daddy was laying, she calmed down. When I sat her next to Edward, she climbed onto his chest and patted at his cheek and said her first word... Dada.

Cue the tears. She had mumbled and made noises, but none of it ever sounded like any words, but most of all, her first word being Dada was the most memorable thing ever. All she wanted was her daddy and she calmed all together.

Esme came to join us a moment later and watched as her granddaughter loved on her son. She looked down, but held her own by pushing a smile on her face now and then. She's a strong woman and I was thankful to have her in my life.

"He'll be awake soon, baby girl, then daddy's gonna love on you as much as you want." Esme pushed some hair off of Edwards forehead. "He's such a great dad." She gave me a sad smile. "I had my reservations at first, but I can see the love he has for his daughter every time he looks at her. Both of you have made me so proud. You've come a long way in the short time you've been together. Who knew that it would take his doppelganger to hurt this family more than we ever thought?"

"Yeah," I chuckled. "I feel like we've been married forever sometimes, then other times, it seems like we just got married. Time flies when you don't want it to unlike right now."

"Tell me about it," Esme said as she exhaled loudly. "I think this flight's getting longer and longer."

We watched as Arlo cuddled next to her daddy with her head on his chest and began to babble. She was playing with her lips making little cute noises. If she was talking to Edward, she was using her own language. All we heard was baby talk. I wish that was the way we could get Edward to wake up.

We sat with Edward for about an hour. Arlo fell asleep and I didn't have the heart to pick her up. She looked like she was sleeping better than she had for the last few weeks.

An hour before we were set to land, Arlo woke up and was being a thorn in everyone's ears. She was so upset that she wasn't giving anyone a chance to calm her. We figured it was the cabin pressure that was bothering her ears. It was her first flight, after all, so I sat with her and whipped out my tit. She latched on as soon as she saw my nipple come into view. Claire came to sit by me and draped a baby blanket over us. She knew I didn't care who saw, but it was nice of her to think otherwise.

"I used to love Anthony as my own son and I guess I still do in a way." I wondered if she was only trying to make conversation. "We'd known about some of the killings he did and when he brought you home that day, we really thought he'd changed." She looked down at her hands before she looked up with a small smile. "He fell for you pretty quick, too. He'd never brought a girl home, so Marcus and I felt that all he needed was to find the right person." Claire paused on her story and looked down at her hands, again. She picked at her nails for a minute before she looked up at me.

"I know now that you weren't the one to pull him out of his hatred towards witches and Warlocks or any person that could do magic. He was really good at acting like he'd never done the things he'd done. Moving to Forks was supposed to be a new beginning for all of us. We hadn't put two and two together about him suggesting us move there until after everything that happened." She reached over and took my hand. "We knew he killed that girl and that's why we left town so abruptly."

I wasn't sure why she was telling me this. We'd already had a familiar conversation. "Claire, you've already said all this to me. Well, except the part about him killing Lauren."

"Yes, I know, but we still have some guilt about it all. We feel like there should have been something we could've done." She gave my hand a light squeeze. "I hope there's a way you can forgive us."

I shook my head. "Claire, there's no forgiveness to give. There's nothing you and Marcus could have done to stop what Anthony did. The same with Emmett. I'm just glad you guys are in my life now."

"Thank you, Bella. That means a lot to me and Marcus. We've made good friends over the years and we've had to leave because we don't age, but with all of you knowing that we're vampires, I think we've finally found a place we can put down some roots. I'm hoping Emmett finds the right girl for him and gives me some grandbabies."

I smiled knowing that Emmett would give anything to find that right girl and have a multitude of babies with her.

As soon as we landed, Mr. Worley had arranged for a private ambulance to take Edward where we would be staying. He called it an estate but once we arrived, it was actually a damn castle.

I couldn't take my eyes off of it as all our bags were being unloaded and put on a cart to be rolled in. I followed Marcus and Emmett as they took care of Edward.

When we entered, the room was like a small apartment. It wasn't much smaller than the apartment that Edward and I live in now.

When we were settled I could finally feel the exhaustion kicking in, but Arlo had other plans. She wasn't going back to sleep for nothing. That's where the TV and a remote came in handy.

I wasn't sure how long I was on the couch, but next thing I knew, Esme was shaking me awake. "Bella, go lay down; we'll keep an eye on Arlo."

"You sure?" I sat up feeling the tiredness creep over me. "Dang; I feel like I could sleep for fifteen hours."

"Do you think you could express some milk for us just in case little bit gets hungry?" She already had Arlo in her arms and her diaper bag. "We can make her some of that rice cereal you brought?"

I nodded. "Yeah, she likes it mixed with one of the desserts I put in the bag." I reached for my bag that was sitting next to the couch and pulled out my breast pump. Esme handed me an empty bottle before she turned for the door. "This will be ready in about thirty minutes."

Esme left with my daughter attached at her hip as she chanted Dada, Dada, Dada. It broke my heart that she couldn't be with him right now.

After Esme came back for the milk, I climbed in the bed where they had moved Edward to and was asleep pretty quick.

I wasn't sure how long I slept, but when I woke up, it felt like I had only slept for ten minutes, so I went on the hunt for a change of clothes and a towel. A nice hot shower would wake me up some.

As soon as I left my room in search of everyone, I found them in the dining room area. They all quieted when I entered the room. I wasn't sure what was going on; all I wanted was some coffee and something to eat.

There was more whispering as I rummaged through the fridge to find some food. Carlisle was playing with Arlo. She was laughing at her grandfather and it was endearing to hear.

When I heard more whispering I knew they were trying to keep something from me. "Okay, out with it." I sat down at the table with some fruit salad and started eating while I waited for someone to start talking. "Someone gonna tell me what's going on? You keep whispering."

Mr. Worley came to sit next to me. "We got some news today," he said. "It's not quite so good."

I felt a bubble of anger and tried to push it down. "What kind of news?" He was stalling and I knew from his silence that it wasn't good news. "Just tell me."

Marcus and Carlisle had come to sit at the table next. Claire had taken Arlo so they could talk to me. "It seems that within the last few weeks since Anthony was put in his crypt, there's been some vandalism to more than a dozen mausoleums."

"Okay," I stressed the word. "What's that have to do with what we're here for?"

Carlisle decided to be the bearer of bad news. "Anthony's was one of them, and his coffin is missing."

"WHAT THE FUCK!" I stood from the table in a pissed off rage. "WHAT THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?"

My dad came to stand next to me. "You need to calm down, right now, young lady. We're doing what we can. We're working with the local authorities to figure out who's been doing all this. It isn't the first time they've had to deal with the same vandalism."

"Who the hell wants to steal a coffin? That's morbid." If it wasn't one thing, it was another. It seemed like all the odds were playing against us.

I also knew that Anthony wasn't technically dead. No one wanted to be the one to give him the killing blow, so he starved himself and turned into a mummy which in turn, because my husband is his doppelganger, made him fall into a coma. If Anthony isn't given blood to wake up, then Edward would stay the way he is. I wasn't about to let that happen. I was about to scour the whole coast of Dublin and then some just to find the coffin we're in dire need of.

"I know that look," my dad said. "And you're not leaving this castle. We're heading out tonight to see if we can find someone who knows anything about the vandalism. You can help Claire change Edwards IV bags. I'm sure he's due for a new cocktail."

"But I think..."

He cut me off. "You don't think nothing. You need to be here with Arlo. All the men are heading out at sun down. With Marcus and Emmett with impeccable hearing we're hoping they can pin point something. And Devon knows some people around town that he's going to talk to."

"I really think that if I..."

It was Esme's turn. "Bella, you know I don't like telling you what to do, but right now, your dad's right. You need to be here with your daughter. They'll let us know as soon as they find anything. Sue and I were about to scrounge something up to make for dinner and it would be great if you would help us."

I felt so defeated with everyone against me. Well, they weren't exactly against me, just not agreeing with me wanting to leave and look for Anthony.

"Look," Mr. Worley said. "As soon as we find Anthony, we'll bring him back here. You'll be the first to know when we find him. There's not much anyone can do with a mummified body."

"That's what you think. I watch enough TV to know that there's some real lunatics out there that do stuff like that just for a laugh." This was all so unbelievable. If I met someone off the street and told them my story, they'd look at me like I'd lost my damn head. "They do nasty stuff to corpses."

Emmett chuckled. "Well, then they'll be in for a real surprise if they try something with Anthony. He may be mummified, right now, but that doesn't mean he can't open his eyes. If they so much as mess with his body and his eyes open, whoever has him, will probably piss their pants."

"You'll never hear me say this again, but at this moment, I wished Anthony did wake up and rip them to pieces."

I sat back down at the table and took Arlo when Claire offered her to me. She sat next to me and continued giving Arlo small pieces of cookie. "It's just an Irish Cream sugar cookie."

I shook my head at her. "It's fine. She loves cookies." I poked Arlo in the stomach. "Don'cha little bit?"

She blew some raspberries at me before stuffing another small piece of cookie in her mouth. She shared her next piece with me and I knew right away why she liked them so much. I could eat a whole dozen of them.

"Where's Alice?" I hoped she could help keep me occupied with wedding stuff while the men were out.

"Her and Jasper are still in their room. Alice was feeling sick earlier. She probably just has jet lag," Esme explained as she poured herself a cup of coffee then another and brought it to me with a small pitcher of creamer. She knew how I liked my coffee; hazelnut creamer.

I tried to ignore the huge elephant in the room that, of which, was my anger. My dad said he needed me to stay with Arlo and that's exactly what I'd do. As bad as I wanted to be out there with them, my daughter needed me more.

Emmett came to sit on the other side of me. "We'll find him, okay? Please trust us on this."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm being selfish, and I know I need to be here, I just feel like I'd be more help."

"Sorry, B, but I gotta agree with your dad on this. You need to be here with little bit and maybe show these women who the real cook is in this room." I knew he was only trying to lighten the mood and it helped for the most part. He even made me smile. Emmett's always liked my food and it was great to hear him brag about how well I could create great tasting meals.

I gave him a small smile. "Now, that I can do, but I think that maybe Esme might show me something out of all of this."

With so many people that needed to be fed, we made a few main dishes, and the food was devoured in no time once it was made.

The sun was finally setting and the men were getting ready to head out. Emmett was calling it a head hunting mission and he couldn't wait to get his hands on the freaks that took his brother.

It was odd hearing him say that, but I brushed it off as Emmett thinking of his past when he really did think of Anthony as his brother. He must have known what I was thinking because he pulled me aside and explained that no matter how much damage Anthony did, he still needed family. Emmett knew that Anthony had done so many bad things throughout his life, and even though he had done stuff like that, no matter how bad a person can be, they needed people to love them, too.

I agreed to a point. Everyone did need love in their life. It may not change them for the better, but to know that you have at least one person that loves you can give a little hope.

I was standing in my room looking out the window. There wasn't much to see except for a sparse few lights out in the distance. The grounds were lit up around the wall that surrounded the castle. Anthony was out there somewhere and I was hoping that he could be found tonight. No matter how much hatred I had toward him, he didn't need to be decimated...even though he wasn't technically dead.

There was a tap at my door and my dad walked in. "We're headed out."

I turned to look at him. "Okay." I walked toward him then wrapped my arms around his waist. "Just be careful. You don't know what kind of people took him."

"Don't worry about me. I have two very strong vampires on my side that'll tear anyone apart if they mess with me, or Devon will put some kind of voodoo curse on them."

"Daddy," I said exasperatedly. "Mr. Worley isn't a voodoo witch; he's a Warlock."

"I know; magic is magic, though," he replied just as he kissed the side of my head. "We'll get Anthony back here then we can wake Edward and go home."

I smiled up at him. "Maybe we can stay for a bit. We never did get a honeymoon."

He raised his brows at me. "Honeymoon?"

"Yeah, ya know, you get married then whisk yourselves away to an exotic place and have lots of sex."

He jumped back from me. "For Christ sakes, Bella. I DID not need to hear that."

I laughed a good hearty laugh. I needed it and who better to use it on but my own father. "I love you, daddy."

He walked toward the door. "I love you, too, you brat. I'll message you in an hour to let you know if we're at least close."

"Thank you."

He left the room and I turned to my husband who was still laying peacefully. Marcus had come in earlier and moved him around a little bit so he wouldn't get bed sores and changed out his bags before I could help Claire. He showed me how to exercise his legs and arms to keep the blood flowing through his limbs.

All I had was time on my hands until Anthony was found.

* * *

 **I'd love to visit Ireland one day.**

 **RTB**


	52. Chapter 52

**Here's a little bit of something, something to see what Edward is up to while he's in a coma.**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns all the characters I borrowed. All mistakes are my own.**

 **3/4/2018**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 52**

 **EPOV**

* * *

I couldn't tell you the first thing about where I was. One minute I was having fabulous sex with my wife, then the next, I was in a dark room. I was on something soft, that was for sure, but I had no clue where I was.

I could see light coming from underneath a door, so I reached around to see if there was a bedside table with a lamp on it. And there was.

Miraculously I had sleep pants on which the last I remembered, I was completely naked, so where ever I was, at least I wouldn't be wondering around nude.

I made my way to the door and strained my ears to see if I could hear anything or if this was all a figment of my imagination.

The faint strains of music was coming from somewhere and when I looked around I could see some stairs at the end of the hallway from where I was standing.

This had to be a dream. Bella was probably downstairs, in this dream, making us breakfast or even dinner. I wasn't sure what time it was, but from the smells floating through the air, it was definitely something delicious.

"Bella?" I yelled out and waited for her to answer, but she probably didn't hear me over the music. It wasn't even her kind of music. It was some kind of techno crap that Bella would never be caught dead listening to.

As I followed the music I made my way down the stairs. They ended in a foyer by a door that looked like it lead to the outside. Everything was so unfamiliar.

Where the hell was I?

"Bella?" I called out, again, and headed for the noise. It was getting louder the further I went through the house.

I found the source of the music when I entered the kitchen, so I looked around. "Bella?"

"Well, good morning, sunshine."

That wasn't the voice of my wife. "What the fuck?"

Standing before me was none other than Anthony. "I said good morning. That wasn't a very nice greeting."

"Where the hell am I?" If I was confused before, I was even more confused, now. "I thought you were shrinking to nothing in some Vervain cell?"

Anthony chuckled. "Well, you see, that's not entirely true. I'm stuck in this In-between world."

"And? What's that have to do with me ?" I walked closer to the counter and watched him pour some batter into a frying pan. It looked like he was making pancakes and there was bacon frying in the pan next to it.

"It has everything to do with you." He flipped a different pancake then switched to the bacon. "You see, you and I are connected. It's definitely something that neither of us want, but there's nothing that can be done about it. We share the same blood; we're within the same bloodline; we share DNA."

I rolled my eyes. "Can you please get to the point?"

"I'm hungry. Are you hungry?" He started taking the cooked food over to the table where there was syrup, butter and some orange juice waiting. There was even a carafe of coffee with creamer and sugar sitting next to it.

I folded my arms over my chest. I was getting frustrated and the more he dodged the questions, the more irritated I got. "Tell me what's going ON!"

"Hey now. We don't need any bitterness. Sit down, have some breakfast and I'll explain."

I huffed and dropped down into a chair at the table and watched as he started putting loads of food on his plate. He used more syrup than there was pancakes to eat. "Dude, how about some pancakes with your syrup?"

"Syrup is like a fine woman; you can never get enough."

That was the stupidest saying I've ever heard. "Whatever."

"Put some food on your plate and we'll talk."

The food did smell delicious, so I took a couple of pancakes, some bacon and poured a generous amount of syrup over them. I didn't use as much as him, but I used a lot.

Then I poured some coffee and fixed it up the way I liked it. The moment my mouth touched the cup, my stomach growled viciously.

As soon as I started eating, Anthony finally started talking. "You see..." He started but then gave me a sideways glance. "You know all this already, though, don't you?"

"Know what? Just freakin tell me." I shoved a huge bite of pancakes in my mouth. "As much as I can't stand you, these are good."

"Thank you," he replied. "Okay, fine. You're a descendant of my sister which means you're a great, great, great nephew of some sorts. Somewhere along the way to your birth..." Then he shook his head. "Well, that's not really important. The important part is, you and I are pretty much one in the same. Our DNA is pretty much the same although mine is over a hundred years older than yours. So, when you came into your Warlock genes, our DNA opened up to be susceptible to each other. Which means that if something happens to me, then you're more than likely to feel it or if something happens to you, then I'll probably feel it." He shoved a bite into his mouth and chewed for a few seconds. Then he so rudely started talking with his mouth full. "Do you get the gist of all this?"

"Unfortunately," I replied. "So why are we here?"

He gave me a devious smile. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. When I decided not to eat or even drink any blood my body started to dry up which led to my body becoming mummified. So, when I became completely immobile, that affected you as well, and now we're both stuck in the In-between world."

"How do we get out?" I took a drink of coffee and started on my bacon. "I can't stay in here with you. I have a wife and daughter I need to get back to."

He tossed his cloth napkin on the table. "That all depends on your buddies; if they figure out what's really going on and what they need to do to fix it."

"Shouldn't it be obvious?"

"Not exactly," he said. "My body's been a little on the stiff side for more than a week."

"A week? Have I been down here for that long?"

"You sure have, but I couldn't get you to wake up. You've been getting your beauty sleep the whole time. Don't you feel rested up?"

I finished my food and made myself another cup of coffee. "That's beside the point. We need to figure out a way to get out of here."

"We have to wait."

And wait was what we did.

I wasn't exactly sure how long we've been in this world, but the days seemed to be getting longer and longer. We were actually getting along with each other; telling jokes and watching movies together. He told me about when he was growing up and the stuff he's seen over his lifetime. We even got into some serious conversations.

One of which was Bella.

We got into a few yelling matches too, which led to Anthony pouring drink after drink of the whiskey that was in the bar. I joined him and had a few myself. "You don't know how bad I wanted to kill you, but I knew I couldn't do it because of her. I knew it would tear her world apart and I loved her; I love her still, but I know she's not meant for me," he said drunkenly. "You're the winner; the…the taker of all my heart."

I chuckled and looked over at him. He was fuzzy from all the alcohol running through me. "Your heart? How could I have your…your…your heart?"

"Bella's had my entire heart since the moment we laid eyes on each other and when she gave you hers, mine went with it." He shook his head and made a sour face. "And no, that doesn't mean I'm in love with you, either. It just means that where ever Bella's heart goes, mine goes with hers. She'll always have it as far as I'm concerned, but over the last couple of years, I've lessoned my feelings for her."

"That doesn't even sound right." I tried to stand from the couch and stumbled back, dropping my glass on the floor. "Damn."

"Dude," Anthony laughed. "You can't even stand up." Then he tried and fell, also. "Okay, maybe I can't either."

We laughed together then finally stood to refill our drinks. "How can you lesson your feelings for someone?"

His brows rose. "Oh, don't get me wrong, I still love her, but not the way you love her. I'll always care for her." Then he got a sad face. "I was her first," he said. "That was special and that's something I'll cherish forever."

"Dude, don't remind me," I said with a growl. "I should've been her first."

"Sorry, bro. Can't take it back now, but look at it this way, you got to marry her and have a baby with her."

We made our way back to the couch and brought the bottle with us this time. "If I would've known things were gonna turn out this way, I would've knocked her up myself."

I backhanded him in the chest. "Don't say shit like that, man; that's not cool at all. That's my wife you're talking about."

"I know and we're having a heart to heart; a bonding moment. Take it how you'd like, but I'm jealous of you, man. Look at us; we're sexy has hell and can have any woman we want. Sucks for you, though, you're tied down and if I'm correct on this, you'll never stick your dick in another chick as long as you're married to Bella."

"That'll never change," I clarified and glanced over at him. "If you would have never fucked up, then you'd know what I'm talking about."

"Hey, I'll never settle down," he said drunkenly.

"Not if you stay all shriveled up," I said, laughing. "Does that mean your dick is all shriveled, too?"

Anthony growled, "Fuck off."

"So it is?" I laughed harder than I had in a long time. "That's just...I don't know man; I'm sorry for your short comings."

I was the only one laughing at my joke as Anthony gave me a killing look. "And you won't be getting a hard-on anymore if your buddies don't figure out how to wake me up."

I shut up real quick. A picture of me lying in a bed and Bella sitting next to me reading a book. Arlo was with her and a little older than she is now. She looked to be about two years old.

"Dude." It was Anthony's turn to backhand me. "Snap out of it. I'm sure somebody will figure it out."

"Do you wanna wake up? I mean, you did this to yourself on purpose. What if they figure out what happened and you just do it again because you're all depressed and down on yourself?"

Anthony sat up and propped his elbows on his knees before pressing his face into his hands. I heard him take in a deep breath and then sigh loudly. "I won't."

"How can I believe you? When you do this shit to yourself, you're doing it to me, now. You can't do that. You have to see that not only is my life worth something, but so is yours. I live, you live; you live, I live. That's the way it has to be." I sat up and scooted closer to him. "Do you have the least bit of remorse in you about all the stuff you did? All those people you killed? Kidnapping my wife which led to her giving birth to our daughter in a dirty basement and early on top of that?"

He growled. "I am; I'm sorry about all of it. I can't take it back; I was never shown the right way to deal with magic the way I was supposed to be; that's why I hated it so much. My father tried to teach me the wrong way; I got hurt because he was teaching me wrong." He shook his head. "From all that shit, I ended up becoming a vampire and that made my hatred worse." He took a few more deep breaths and glanced up at me. He had tears in his eyes. "I started hating him; I hated all of it; I hated anything that had to do with magic and I wanted it all gone out of this world. When I found out your sister was a witch, I did more digging into your mom's past and my past. That's how I found everything out; that's when I found out that if Bella had a baby boy, he was sure to be another Warlock I didn't want on this earth and when she gave birth to a girl, everything I thought was the truth just wasn't. That's when I was hit in the face with all the wrongs I did and I couldn't live with myself because of it."

I didn't know what to say. I was so drunk that I wasn't sure I was hearing him correctly. "If you mean what you say, then show that you're a changed man when they wake you up. Prove to all of us that you can be who you're meant to be. You never know, you may actually become a part of a family that actually means something."

He wasn't saying anything and my head was all woozy. I wasn't in the mood to joke around anymore or talk. I was frustrated because it seemed like everything I was saying to him was going in one ear and out the other. "I'm going to bed."

I got up and started stumbling toward the room that had become mine the moment I woke up in it more than a month ago. Something had to give. Bella had to figure out how to wake Anthony. I needed to get back to her and Arlo. They needed me just as much as I needed them.

* * *

 ***SIGH* Bonding is a good thing, right?**

 **RTB**


	53. Chapter 53

**No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns most the characters I borrowed. I own all mistakes within this chapter.**

 **3/4/2018**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 53**

 **BPOV**

* * *

Time was ticking very slowly. I was getting antsy the longer the men stayed out looking for the people responsible for the vandalism around the towns. They had already spent three nights looking and only had two leads that turned up as dead ends. I couldn't help the negative feelings coursing through me. So many odds were stacked against us.

Alice had tried numerous times to get my mind on something else, but it didn't work. Then Esme, Sue and even Claire. It worked for a little while, but then the thoughts of never getting to see my husband's beautiful eyes again, would start running through my head; the thought of Arlo growing up while her daddy lays in a bed not being able to hug her, tickle her or even read a book to her.

It was driving me completely insane.

I sat with Edward most of the time they were out looking. Arlo sat next to her daddy and would pat him saying Dada. My heart melted and broke at the same time. He was missing so much the longer he was in a coma. Arlo had started crawling the day before and if he didn't wake up soon, he'd miss her learning to walk.

When Arlo was being taken care of by her grandmother or taking a nap, I would sit with Edward and talk to him. I even told him I was willing to give Anthony a second chance at friendship if he were to keep himself alive. That would be a little hard to do, but if it meant keeping my husband with me and his daughter, then I would work on it.

At midnight, I heard some banging coming from downstairs and it startled me. It didn't sound like the men coming in from their hunt, so I got up and headed down to see what was going on.

Esme, Claire, Sue, and Alice came stumbling out of their rooms, too. We met at the top of the stairs and headed down. I think Esme had a baseball bat in her hands, but I wasn't sure; she was the one at the head of the line.

I turned around to go make sure Arlo was still sound asleep. She'd been sleeping in the bed with me and Edward since we got to Ireland.

She was snuggled into his side fast asleep.

When I got downstairs I heard men's voices and then I heard Esme. She was talking to them calmly, so I knew the men were back.

My dad was standing in the doorway to the kitchen when I approached. He draped his arm over my shoulder and pointed toward the living room. "We got something for you while we were out."

I looked up at him screwing up my face with wonder. "The only thing I want is for..."

"Go look," Emmett said, cutting me off mid-sentence. "I think you'll like what we brought home with us."

I was so damn confused, so I played along and turned to walk into the living room. "If this is something stupid, I'm gonna..."

My words stopped on their own accord when I walked into the living room and saw a casket sitting in the middle of the floor on a metal rack with wheels. "Is that...?"

Marcus, my dad and everyone else followed behind me. I glanced around and noticed all the couples paired together; their arms wrapped around each other. They were waiting for me to react.

I walked over to the casket and just stared at it for a moment before I turned around and looked at my dad. "Are you sure it's him?"

"Oh, we're sure," Emmett said. "There's only two men I know with that face and that's one. The other one's upstairs."

My heart sped up with the anticipation and my hands started to shake. I was afraid to open it and see Anthony laying there because it also meant it would put the picture of my husband lying in a casket, in my head. That was something I didn't want; something I never wanted.

Esme came to stand next to me and put her arm over my shoulders. Alice came to stand at my other side. "We're here with you. Just open it and then we'll work on getting him awake."

I put my head against Alice's. "I have to be the one to wake him."

My dad stepped forward and handed me a small knife. "Already on it."

Us three women put our hands on the edge of the casket lid and raised it together. I had to close my eyes for a minute and take a few breaths. When I opened them, there lay Anthony. He was gray with dark streaks running through his cheeks and his eyes looked really sunken in. He looked horrible; he didn't look anything like the Anthony I knew.

The tears started welling up in my eyes and for some reason, I had to put my hand on his cheek. "Why did you do this to yourself? You're an idiot."

Without thinking, I took the small knife and placed the blade to the palm of my hand. Esme reached over to Anthony and pulled his lips open and his chin down. There was a gap big enough for the blood to drain down his throat. "This better work."

I made the cut deep enough that I'd probably need about ten stitches, but if this worked, it would be worth every drop of blood.

My hand hovered over his mouth and I watched as my blood slid over his teeth and his tongue.

After a minute or so, I noticed his fangs started to come down real slow and a smile started to spread across my face because that only meant one thing.

He was starting to wake up.

"That's enough, Bella," Alice said. "You're gonna bleed out too much."

"I don't care how much it takes; he needs to wake up. This is the only way Edward will come back to us."

Esme put her hand on my wrist. "She's right, sweetie. We have some other blood on reserve for him. You're giving him just enough to wake up."

I glanced over my shoulder at Claire, Marcus and Emmett. "We're okay, B. We've already had our share for this week."

Emmett always knew what I was thinking before I even said it. It was too bad I couldn't hear them. Vampires seemed to be blocked from my mind reading.

When I pulled away, Claire came over immediately and took my hand in hers. I didn't realize how advanced she was until she waved her hand over mine. The cut started healing right before my eyes.

I looked up at her. "Holy cow! I didn't know you were that good."

"Years of practice," she replied then looked over at Esme then Alice. "All of you will be just as good one of these days."

I shook my head and went into the kitchen to wash my hands. When I walked back into the living room, I looked down at Anthony and his face was starting to get some color back. "I'm gonna go upstairs and lay down with my husband and daughter. Hopefully by the time the sun rises, he'll wake up when we do."

I hugged all the men and thanked them profusely over and over as I made my way toward the stairs. "I'll see you in the morning."

When I got upstairs, Arlo had moved around and was now more on Edwards chest. She was so adorable; she missed him so much and being next to him was the only way to really keep her calm.

I climbed in the bed and scooted over close to the both of them. I watched as they slept and the tears began to fall again. If I didn't know any better, you would think I was pregnant with all the crying I had been doing lately, but I knew that wasn't the issue. I just missed my husband so much that it broke my heart.

The next thing I knew, I was being patted on my face by a tiny hand. The sound of raspberries being blown was very evident that my daughter was awake and wanted me awake as well. "Dada… . ."

I opened my eyes to the beautiful sight of my daughter leaning over me. As soon as she saw my eyes open, she smiled, but I didn't expect to see what I saw. She had a tooth on the bottom. The damn thing must've came in overnight. I didn't even realize she was teething.

I sat up and took her in my arms. "Little bit, you have a tooth." I started peppering kisses all over her face and blew raspberries into her neck. She laughed and grabbed my head as I assaulted her stomach next. "You're such a stinker."

"Dada da da da da..." One of these days, she'll start saying Momma.

"She's been smacking me in the face all morning."

I jumped from the voice I heard because I hadn't heard it in over a month. "OH MY GOD!" I bounced on the bed and hugged my daughter. "Daddy's awake, little bit."

I looked over at Edward and his eyes were bright with a huge smile on his face. "You two are a sight for sore eyes."

Arlo tried her hardest to get out of my arms and I let her. She went straight to her daddy and snuggled into the his neck. That was their thing.

With my daughter back with her daddy, I climbed over the top of him and straddled his hips. I leaned over Arlo and pressed my lips to my husbands. "I've missed you more than you know."

"I'm pretty sure I know because I missed you just as much, but right now, I really do need to piss." He moved to sit Arlo up, but she was protesting. "Little bit, daddy has to pee."

"Has your mom been in here?" I took Arlo so he could get up. He sat still for a moment as his feet touched the floor. He seemed reluctant at first until he braced his hand on the bedside table and slowly stood. "You need help? I can get Emmett." Someone had to come in and check on us because all the tubes were disconnected from him. Even his catheter.

He shook his head. "No. I don't want him seeing my dick. He might get jealous."

At that moment I was thankful Arlo didn't understand what we were saying. "I wanna see your dick."

Edward chuckled. "Oh, believe me, you will." He stood up straight for a moment before he tried to take a step. I was pretty sure his legs were weak from not walking on them for so long. "Just as soon as I get all my strength back."

"I'll hold you to that." I stood up and walked around the bed to give him a little assistance. I held Arlo on one hip while Edward draped his arm over my shoulders so I could help him take the fifteen steps or so to the bathroom.

"Where are we, anyway? This definitely doesn't look like our bedroom." We took a few more steps before he stopped and pressed his lips to my temple. "I love you."

I smiled up at him. "Believe it or not, we're in Ireland."

"Ireland? As in Belfast, Dublin, and Leprechauns?"

"The one and only." We started walking again, so I started to explain a few things. "We had no choice but to come here. Once we get downstairs, we'll fill you in on everything."

"Yeah, I've got some stuff to tell you too, but not in front of everyone else." We made it into the bathroom and luckily there was a window seal he could hold on to while he stood over the toilet.

I stayed by the sink and waited for him. It took him a minute or so to start peeing. I figured it was because he used to have a tube down his peehole for a while. I didn't want Arlo to see what her daddy was doing, so I turned the water on to get warm for when Edward washed his hands. "Is this stuff you need to tell me serious?"

I heard him chuff. "Eh...just some shit I found out about Anthony."

"Found out?" I was really confused now. "How the heck did you..."

"To you, I was in a coma, but I was actually somewhere that we would have never thought existed." He flushed the toilet and braced himself on the wall to step over to the sink. "There's such a thing as an In-between world."

My brows rose in wonder. "Okay. Like an afterlife?"

"No," he said. "I sure hope there's food; I'm starving."

He changed the subject real quick as if that was something he didn't want to talk about. I knew he'd open up to me once we were completely alone, so I'd leave it alone for right now.

Arlo wanted back in her daddy's arms, but I had to keep a hold on her until we made it downstairs.

Edward slipped on the slippers that I set out for him. He was slow moving, but it was understandable and I was patient. He could take all day if he wanted to.

When he stood, he leaned over and pressed his lips to Arlo's forehead. "Daddy'll get you when we go see grandma."

"Dada da da da..." She stuck her pointer finger into her mouth. Tears were filling her eyes because she wanted Edward more than anything at this very moment. Drool was pooling on her bottom lip and the tooth that popped up overnight was very visible. My baby was growing up way too fast right before my eyes.

The wonders of being a part of the supernatural world.

It took us a few minutes, but we finally made it downstairs and when we walked into the kitchen, the table was full with food. Esme, Alice and Carlisle came rushing over to us just as we stepped into the room. Jasper stood back and waited his turn to hug his best friend.

Esme kept kissing on his face. "You can't leave us like that ever, again." She was holding onto him like he was about to fly away. She was crying happy tears that her son was awake.

Carlisle took his place next and hugged Edward. "It's so good to see you up and about."

"It feels good," Edward replied. "I'm a little stiff and weak, but I'm glad to be up."

Alice and Jasper took their turns before everyone else started giving him claps on the back. My dad even hugged him as he handed him a chocolate chip scone. The other stuff sitting on the table didn't look like anything I would eat. It was apparent that Esme didn't cook all the food herself. Neither did Claire or Sue and I knew for sure that Alice had nothing to do with it.

Over all the excitement, we heard. "Good morning, sleeping beauty."

We looked over toward the table and there sat Anthony. He was shoving food in his mouth and I wasn't about to ask about the drink sitting in front of him. I was pretty sure it was blood. He would need quite a bit for him to get back to his normal self. I only hoped his time as a mummy did something to his head. They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but that all remained to be seen. I didn't want to get my hopes up that he changed at all.

Surprisingly, when Edward reached the table, he sat next to Anthony. "You cook this?"

"Hell no. My specialty is pancakes and bacon. You should know this, jackass." I was confused, yet again, at their banter. "I jump back a lot quicker than you, so eat up." Anthony started putting loads of food on Edwards plate. There were sausages and eggs with some other weird stuff I wasn't about to touch.

"I remember," Edward said. "Where's my coffee?"

Anthony chuckled. "I'm not your bitch anymore. You're awake now, and you have a wife that can be at your beck and call."

I took my place next to Edward and released our daughter to him. He sat her on his lap and started giving her small pieces of scrambled egg. She took them with her tiny fingers and fed herself. Then she'd stare at Anthony then look at Edward. I was sure she was confused why there was another man that looked like her daddy sitting next to them. "Someone has a tooth," I announced as I started putting food on my own plate.

"Awee..." The other women at the table gushed over the small human. "I'm sure more are on their way, too," said Esme.

My phone rang from my purse on the counter, so I stood to get it. When I pulled it out, I go so excited. "MOM! It's my mom."

I answered as quick as I could. "Mom, hi!"

"Hi, baby girl. I just called to let you know that the strangest thing happened when I got home."

"You're home? When did you get home?" I stood facing everyone so they could hear the conversation.

"I got in last night. I tried calling Emmett, but his cell was off and he never came home last night and now, I'm over at your place. Where is everyone?"

I couldn't take the smile off my face. "I'm sorry, mom; some stuff's happened. It's sort of a long story and we'll fill you in when we get home in a few days."

"A few days?" Now she was the one who was confused.

I took my seat at the table and finished putting the edible food on my plate. "We're actually in Ireland."

"Ireland, honey? I didn't know you guys were planning to take a vacation?"

I sighed. "It's not exactly a vacation and like I said, we'll explain when we get home. Everyone is here and we're just staying a few extra days to do some sightseeing."

All eyes were on me as soon as I said that. I gave them a huge toothy grin. "Okay," she replied. I could hear the reluctance to question me further. "I just called to let you know that we're home."

"That's great. I can't wait to see you and everyone else. I'll call when we're on our way."

As soon as we ended our call, the happiness within me tripled. Today was definitely a good day.

While breakfast was going on, Edward and Anthony filled us in on the confusion we encountered when we first entered the kitchen. They actually laughed together at a few things they talked about. My husband and someone who used to be our mortal enemy were acting like they've been best buds their whole lives.

Anthony kept glancing at me with curiosity as we ate. Their whole conversation was so carefree. My immediate memory of telling Edward I would give Anthony a chance, came barreling back into my head. It was like he heard every word I said as he lie in a coma.

"You two are awfully chummy," my dad said, taking the words right out of my mouth. "Seems like there's been an olive branch extended?"

Anthony's face went blank as he reached for his glass of dark red liquid. "Yeah, about that. I've got a lot to make up for and a lot of apologizing to do. Especially to the people that always gave me the benefit of the doubt. They were my family and I let them down more than once." He looked around the room to Marcus, Claire and Emmett. "I love you guys. I really do and I'm truly sorry for everything that I've done. You never deserved the wrath I spread over our lives. I see things a whole lot differently now. and most of that has to do with Edward. He's shown me that life is better living without a lot of hatred."

"We love you, too, bro, but you know you'll have to earn our trust back. It's been gone for a while, so actions speak louder than words. Just prove us wrong that you're not the way you were." Emmett the ever loving man and his words were a solid example of someone that could see the good in people even when they shared their deception. He really and truly is a man with a huge heart.

Claire stood from the table and made her way to Anthony. "You've always been my son." Anthony stood and they wrapped their arms around each other. "And I love you. I want my son that I know you can be."

"I've dedicated myself to a new and improved me and if you think I'm up to no good, then I'll gladly let Emmett rip me a new one."

As they had their endearing moment, everyone watched in silence. They were smiling except Mr. Worley. He didn't know half the stuff Anthony did and I was pretty sure he was having conflicting feelings toward him.

I hoped he meant every word he said. If there was any reluctance, is was warranted from his past behavior. It was going to be a little while before I could completely wrap this all up in my head.

* * *

 **Welp...they're awake!**

 **RTB**


	54. Chapter 54

******VERY HOT AND STEAMY LEMON ALERT!******

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns most of the characters I borrow. All mistakes are my own.**

 **3/4/2018**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 54**

 **EPOV**

* * *

After spending a few extra days in Ireland, I was finally feeling like I was back to normal. We'd missed Christmas because I was in a coma, but we planned to celebrate with the whole family the weekend after we arrive home.

We were currently sitting on the private jet, that Mr. Worley provided us, as we waited to get the go ahead to take off. With it being the end of December, snow storms were hitting just about everywhere we needed to be.

Ireland wasn't so bad, but considering we're from Florida, everywhere was cold.

We waited two hours before we were given the go-ahead. Arlo was sticking to me like glue, not letting anyone else hold her. Her separation anxiety tripled as soon as we got on the plane. I just wanted to get home to sleep in my own bed and be aware of my surroundings.

Don't get me wrong, Ireland was beautiful, but I wanted my own home. My parents had given me and Bella some alone time so we could go into Dublin to do some sightseeing and visit a few pubs. We indulged in a couple of pints, me having to finish what she couldn't. Even though I was with Anthony in the In-between world, I enjoyed having drinks with him. It was odd that I remembered everything that was said or done while we kept each other company.

I couldn't believe I was saying this, but Anthony didn't seem like he was a half bad fella.

Arlo barely made a peep the entire flight, and as soon as we landed in New York to refuel so we could get home to Florida, she actually went to Bella so she could be nursed. She had to keep a hand on me the whole time. It was obvious she'd be very clingy for a while.

Anthony was on our flight home. While Bella and I were out Anthony had a long serious conversation with Claire and Marcus. He wanted another chance to be in their lives. They reluctantly agreed, but the trust would take some time.

He agreed to do human things like getting a job so he could pay his way like a normal person and have his own home. He said even though he had money saved, nowhere near millions, but he could get by with what he had until he got a job with one of the many degrees he's earned over the years.

They offered for him to stay with them until he had a place, but he refused stating that he already had a condo that he purchased when he first got to Florida. He had compelled his neighbors to take care of his place until he came home even not knowing when that was going to be. He had his utilities set up by automatic withdrawal along with his other bills that had come due. He even admitted to having a place in Canada and wanted to sell it.

It was all so surreal. My wife's ex was going to be living in the same town as us. Even though we spent more than a month together, it was going to take some time to trust him, to hope that he truly has changed from all the wrong he'd done over the years. Even Mr. Worley offered to help him with his magic. He'd go with me and learn; we'd do it together.

We arrived home pretty late, so we went straight home. Arlo didn't flinch one time as I carried her into her room. She snuggled into her own bed and surprisingly stayed asleep. We expected her to wake up as soon as I laid her down; she proved us wrong.

Bella didn't bother unpacking, so she left our suitcase by the front door, and as soon as my head hit my pillow, I was on the verge of falling asleep until she climbed into bed. We still hadn't made love since I woke up. It wasn't because the desire was gone; we just had so much going on that we were too tired to perform.

"I'm so exhausted," she said as she snuggled into my side.

I rolled so we could face each other. "Me, too, and I slept for nearly two months."

I felt her lips press into my neck. "I know and as much as I want to have sex, right now, I don't think I could move my body; you'd have to do all the work."

"Not gonna happen. Let's just get some sleep and maybe we'll be up to doing some hanky panky tomorrow night," I suggested before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Mmm..." she hummed into my chest. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

We were asleep in no time at all. I was off to dreamland where I found my wife laying on a sun lounger by the pool at our house. She was so tan and her skin was shiny from the tanning oil that she uses. I love the way it smelled on her skin. It reminded me of a tropical island, one where I could see her in a very skimpy bikini.

I woke the next morning with the space next to me empty and cold. I could hear the TV on in the living room just before the vacuum was switched on. It sounded like Bella was doing some house cleaning. As much as I wanted to stay in bed, I knew I couldn't; I needed to get up and see if she needed any help.

Arlo released a squeal of happiness just as my feet touched the floor. I was still a little weak, but I knew it would pass in due time.

As soon as I made a visit to the bathroom, I stumbled into the living room and watched as Bella dragged the pack n' play to one side so she could vacuum where it had been sitting. The house really wasn't dirty at all. We were pretty good at cleaning up after ourselves even with an infant who's become a lot more mobile lately. She was growing so fast and developing quicker than a human baby would. At five months, she was crawling and just in the few days since I've been awake, she's been showing interest in wanting to start pulling up on things. She'd be walking before we know it.

We hadn't seen Renee yet because we got in too late the night before. Our Christmas celebration was happening in a few days and there wasn't one single decoration put up in our home; not even a tree. I planned on heading out today to get that taken care of. I was going to recruit Emmett to help me out.

I heard a timer go off in the kitchen and Bella's head snapped up. "Hey, you."

"Hey yourself." I followed her into the kitchen where she pulled something from the oven. "What's this? Lunch?"

It looked like a huge pot pie of some sorts. "Yeah and I figured what we didn't eat now we could eat later for dinner."

"I was planning on heading out for a little while today with Emmett. You need anything while I'm out?"

She made a thinking face for a second before answering. "Nah; I think we're good here. What're you going out for?"

"Considering I've been in a coma for longer than I ever wanted to be and I missed going out to Christmas shop, I thought maybe I could pick up a few things. And I wanted to get a tree. I hadn't exactly asked Emmett to go with me, but I figured he might want to." I stepped a little closer to her and bent down to kiss her.

Bella wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me closer. "Maybe we can go out later and do some shopping together. I still hadn't done any shopping, either."

"Sounds good." I reached down to cup her ass to pull her closer to me. I was feeling a wave of desire roll over me, but I knew now wasn't the time to instigate any kind of sex with her. Especially in the kitchen with our daughter in the other room.

After we ate, I called Emmett and he was free to head out for a bit. He had made plans with Anthony later in the day to help him pick up a few extra pieces of furniture for his condo. From what he'd told us on our flight home, he just had the bare essentials; a bed, a couch and a TV. I had a feeling Emmett was going to ask if I wanted to tag along, but I felt like I needed to make up for the time I've been under and away from Bella and Arlo.

I picked Emmett up at Marcus and Claire's house before we headed to Wal-Mart so I could get some Christmas ornaments. I was just getting the basic lights and a few bulbs. All the Christmas stuff was 75% off. I also picked out a new ornament for Arlo's first Christmas. I would let Bella pick out whatever other ornaments she wanted when we headed out later in the day.

"I was thinking about living with Anthony for a while just to keep an eye on him; maybe keep him on the straight and narrow. I know he appears to be a completely different person, but I guess I just wanna see it for myself." Emmett picked up a box of silver ball ornaments for the tree.

"That's understandable." I picked up a box of red ball ornaments before pushing the cart further down the aisle. There were bare pickings considering it was after Christmas. We'd only have the tree up for a few days, but I wanted a real Christmas celebration at our house. Thankfully, I found a pre-lit artificial tree that was on sale. It was seven feet tall with multi-colored lights. I knew Bella would love it.

"So, you don't think it's a bad idea?" We came across a pile of stockings that were all different colors. Emmett picked up three, each different colors, and tossed them in the cart.

I shrugged my shoulders. "It really doesn't matter what I think, but what I do think is, he has a second chance at a life where he's not causing chaos. If he's truly a changed person, then time will tell. If you live with him, are you gonna tell him the real reason you're there?"

We moved along to another aisle where I threw a skirt to go around the bottom of the tree into the cart. "I'm sure he'll guess, but I don't think I'll come right out and tell him."

"I thought you were staying with Bella's parents for a little while longer?"

"With Renee home now, she said she'd keep me on speed dial just in case she needs a sitter. I should just open my own daycare." He seemed really serious about his business opportunity. "As much as I love kids, I think it might be something I should look into."

"Sounds promising." I patted him on the back. "Who knows, maybe you'll meet the future Mrs. McCarty." Apparently, he'd been going by his birth name after they left Forks. I knew Marcus, Claire and Anthony were Mason's.

Emmett heavily sighed. "As old as I am, I'm surprised she hasn't come along sooner."

"Who knows anymore. It'll happen when you least expect it. That's what happened with me and Bella. She was completely adamant about us not getting together or even giving me a chance because of Anthony, but look at us now; we're married with a kid." I spotted something I wanted to get for Arlo stuffed onto a shelf where it wasn't supposed to be. It was one of those cone looking toys where you stack the rings by size and were different colors.

We continued chatting as we walked through the store. I only picked out a couple of more things because I knew Bella would want to pick out the rest of the ornaments; I didn't want to pick all them out myself. I figured she'd want to pick out the ornament for our first family Christmas.

We were back to the house by three and Emmett helped me unload all of my purchases. He picked a few things out himself stating that he'd probably head out later to do some more shopping for everyone else. I told him not to worry about me and Bella; we were happy with everything we had.

When we walked through the door, I found Bella on the couch crying her eyes out. I looked around to see where Arlo was, but figured she was down for her afternoon nap. When my wife looked up at me, her eyes were all red and puffy like she'd been crying the entire time we were gone.

I dropped what I was carrying, leaving Emmett standing at the door and made my way to my wife. I, immediately, took her in my arms. "What's wrong, baby?"

"It's stupid. I cry about everything anymore," she said as she cried harder into my chest.

I noticed the TV was on, but I wasn't sure what she was watching. "Nothing that concerns you is stupid, so tell me what has you so upset."

"Stefan killed Enzo." She blubbered into my chest. "He was my favorite vampire."

I was definitely confused. "Who's Stefan and why'd he kill Enzo?"

She pulled away from me and plopped against the back of the couch. "Never mind; it's stupid."

I looked at the TV and there was a girl screaming over a guy who appeared dead. "Wait, are we talking about a show?"

She looked like I had two heads. "Duh...it's Vampire Diaries."

"I'm supposed to know this because...?" I asked, deadpanning as I wondered why this show should remotely ring any bells in my head.

I got her evil eye. "Just..." she paused as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Just forget about it."

I pulled my lips between my teeth to keep from laughing at my melodramatic wife. And, of course, she noticed just as I got the back of her hand across my chest. "Owww...damn."

She jumped up from the couch then noticed Emmett standing by the door. He had a similar look on his face as mine. His lips were pulled between his teeth, like mine were, to keep from laughing. "You can leave," Bella told him. "I needed someone on my side and it's obvious you're on his."

"My bad," he replied. "I'm sorry, B. You know all that shit's supposed to be fiction right, the chick who writes those shows is actually a vampire?"

Her brows rose, "Oh, really? Huh? I had no idea. I never paid any attention to all the crap they do. I knew they were vampires, but I never put two and two together when I first found out about all this..." She waved her hand around. "...this magic and blood sucking crap." Then she looked as if she was thinking about something. "You know, there's a lot of shit they do on the show that's actually for real. Like the amulets they wear so they don't burn up in the sun and they eat food and drink other stuff instead of just blood." Then she scrunched up her eyes as she thought again. "And they can't have babies or make babies."

"Yup," he said. "The chick who writes the show pretty much writes it after what she's had experience with. There's a huge cover up that someone writes books about it." Then he chuckled. "I'm surprised she hasn't written anything about Fairies. She's got the witches, vampires, and wolves; I'm not sure what else she comes up with."

"Isn't that pretty much outing the whole existence of the Supernatural world, though? They really do exist, but because they made it seem like the show is based off books, no one actually thinks it's real?"

Emmett shrugged. "Who knows. There was another vampire show that was supposed to be based off books too, but it isn't on anymore. I've seen a few episodes and it's pretty good, but some of the stuff is so true that it's unbelievable. I think that one had fairies."

"Great," Bella said. "I'm a walking, talking reality versus fiction character. Isn't that just peachy?" She shook her head as she rolled her eyes. "I wonder what they'll come up with next? I'm still watching the damn show, though."

I wasn't exactly sure what her issue was, but I could pretty much predict that I already knew. Her snarkiness was unwarranted and there wasn't anything I could do about it until after Emmett left.

Our little spat was forgotten, and she actually helped with the few more bags that needed to be brought in. She was excited about the Christmas tree and thanked me, profusely, for getting a pre-lit tree. She said she hated trying to keep up with fifty different strands of lights. Her attitude had done another shift, for the better, of course, but I braced myself for the next verbal snap.

Emmett left shortly after we got all the stuff inside and before Bella demanded that I move the tree into the living room where she wanted it. She was being very domineering since we walked in the door.

"How long has little bit been down?" I had a feeling I knew what would get my wife steered away from her edginess.

She was opening the box to the Christmas tree and pulling pieces out. "About thirty minutes; why?"

I was feeling pretty confident, so I took six long strides over to where she was standing and swooped her up in my arms. The bedroom was next on my to-do list, so as soon as I stepped into the room, I used my foot and pushed the door shut. "I think we both need a little stress relief."

She was on the bed in a split second then I started stripping out of my clothes. Hers were next once she realized what was about to happen.

"It's been too long," she said as she threw her bra at me then started pushing her yoga pants down along with her panties.

Her back was against the headboard with her legs open and ready for me.

I watched her as she started teasing herself. My dick was already hard as a rock, but my wife was putting on a small show for me as she slipped her hand over the top of her mound and between her luscious lips. I wanted my mouth on her so bad that I could practically taste her on my tongue.

She swirled her finger over her clit as she used her other hand to tweak her nipples. I could see them pebble the more she became aroused. "I think we need to pick up where we left off before I took a very long nap."

I reached down and wrapped my hand around my cock and began to stroke myself. I spread my pre-cum over the head of my dick that ached to be inside my wife. "I'm so wet," she said. "I've been thinking about this all day. I wanted to wait until you had all your strength back."

"I have plenty enough strength for what I'm about to do to you," I said just as I kneeled on the end of our bed. The ache was starting to burn out of control, so I reached out to grab her feet and pulled her down the bed. She bent her knees and dropped her legs open inviting me in.

My tongue was on cloud nine the second I clamped my mouth over her pussy. It had been way too long to be without this wonderful essence.

Bella slipped both of her hands through my hair and began to tug the more I fucked her with my mouth. Her moans grew louder and if she could open her legs more, she would.

The ache in my cock was getting stronger and I couldn't wait any longer, so I released her clit with a pop and crawled my way up her body kissing and nipping at her skin. As soon as I positioned myself, pushing her legs up and open more with my thighs, I sank deep inside of her. I wasn't too gentle, but gentle enough not to hurt her because she's bragged about how big my cock is that I knew if I slammed into her, especially after not having sex for nearly two months, I would probably hurt her.

I watched as I entered her over and over, loving how well she fit around me. My dick glistened with her arousal the more I pushed inside of her. I slowed my pace to watch the most arousing sight that I've ever seen. That was until Bella slipped her hand down and scissored her fingers on each side of my cock feeling where I entered her. "I need you to fuck me hard, Edward."

She didn't need to tell me twice, so I pulled out and motioned for her to turn around so I could get her from behind. As soon as her ass was in the air, I didn't hesitate to plow back into her. I licked my pointer finger and rubbed it over her puckered hole. That made her growl, "Oh, God, yes!" I was still getting used to hearing you agree to me even touching her there. She used to never want me to even graze her asshole.

I used some of the wetness from her pussy to coat my finger again, so I could push it inside her. She pushed back toward me as if she were begging me to penetrate her ass.

My finger slipped in to the first knuckle, easily, before I felt resistance. We'd only ever gone through the back door once, but the way she was begging for it, I'd gladly give her more. "You want it here, baby?"

"Just your finger; it feels so good," she replied as she pushed her ass back at me more. I pulled my finger out then removed my dick from her pussy so I could finger fuck her for a few seconds to get some lubrication. She wasn't caring what I was doing as long as she got off.

As soon as I pulled my fingers from her pussy, I slipped my cock back in and slammed into her a few times before I tried with my finger in her ass, again. This time, I went a little further and met the same movement as my cock. "Harder!" She was definitely a horny vixen. "I'm gonna cum!"

I was close to blowing my load just as she reached back and started pushing my hand to fuck her ass more. As soon as I decided to try and put another finger in her ass, she roared and pushed back. I felt her pussy squeeze my cock like a vice and made me start to cum, as well.

I pulled my fingers from her ass and latched onto her hips to pull her completely flush with my pelvis. She moaned, "Oh, God, it's too much!"

There wasn't a chance I was pulling away. I was so far up inside her that I was probably hitting a vital organ. I wanted every last drop of my cum to coat her inner walls.

I eased out just a little before pushing back in a far as I could. "It's never too much, baby." My cock was still pulsing as it emptied inside her. She was on orgasm overload as her pussy continued to convulse around me. I could do this all night and if little bit allowed us, we were going to be making up for lost time...all night.

And we did...multiple times.

* * *

 **These two make me wish I had a boyfriend.**

 **A friend of mine at work said she was going to buy me one of those life size dolls that I could pick and choose what size penis I wanted him to have.**

 **If she only knew how I wrote my stories, she'd have it delivered as soon as possible.**

 **LOL. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.**

 **RTB**


	55. Chapter 55

**Including this chapter, there's three left. I'm anxious to get my next story started.**

 **No copy right infringement intended. SM owns most the characters I borrowed. All mistakes are mine.**

 **3/4/2018**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 55**

 **BPOV**

* * *

We celebrated Christmas with our entire family the weekend after we got home from Ireland. That included Marcus, Claire, Emmett and even Anthony. He was still coping with a lot of shit that was becoming hard for him to get over. Marcus referred him to a psychologist friend and all I could do was hope that it worked. I was just becoming used to seeing him around as a friend instead of a foe. It was weird to say the least.

Edward had given Anthony the benefit of the doubt and extended an olive branch. Mine was extended but only halfway. We were civil with each other and I bit my tongue every time a past transgression popped into my head that I wanted to throw in his face. I had to keep reminding myself that if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have my husband with me.

Alice's wedding was in a couple days on February 14th, Valentine's Day, and we were all scrambling to get things together. They were getting married in the botanical gardens in Naples. We were all driving down the day before to make sure everything was going as it should. Marcus was officiating per Alice's demands. He wasn't about to deny her; they'd become pretty close over the last few months and she saw him as an uncle. I did too, as well as most of the younger couples in the family.

Everything was finally getting back to normal since we'd gotten home over a month ago. Well, as normal as normal could be with us.

My dad popped the question to Sue. She gladly excepted then they both announced the soon arrival of the newest Swan member. I was so damn excited for them. I was getting another brother or sister. It'd be funny if she ended up having twins, too.

Speaking of twins; Piper and Jackson started walking which lead to Arlo following right behind them. They were only two weeks older than Arlo, but their growth was just so overwhelming. Arlo was the same way. We made sure to keep them in their strollers when we were out in public because we didn't want people to start asking questions. Our trips were being cut short sometimes because little things started happening like glasses levitating off of tables and plates of food exploding in front of people. They were too young to understand what they were doing, so we just shrugged our shoulders and hoped it never got worse than what was happening.

As far as magic goes, I've been learning something new every day; all thanks to my mother. She hopped right back into her magic like she'd never stopped using it. Edward was coming along with his like he'd known how to do it his whole life. We'd pull little pranks on each other every once in a while and vowed to only use our magic for the good. My favorite was the dishes. I just waved my hand and they would start washing themselves, or the vacuum cleaner would do the work all on its own.

It was wonderful.

There was a knock at my door, so I pushed my laptop back from the edge of the table to answer it. Esme stood on the other side with a pouty look on her face. "Please tell me you have Alice's garter? She's about to drive me up the friggin' wall."

I smiled and welcomed her in. "It's in my suitcase; no need to worry."

I took my seat back at the table where I was typing up an essay for my online professor. I was taking some business and CPA classes on the internet.

"Thank God, for you." She kissed the side of my head before she sat down. "Where's my granddaughter?"

"She's with her daddy down by the beach. She was gettin' pretty rowdy, so he took her out to burn off some energy before we leave." I typed a few words before I remembered something. "Oh, did you call the caterer? They're supposed to be at the botanical first thing Friday morning."

She nodded. "You guys are going down tonight, right?" I nodded, answering her. "Good. Do you mind checking with the front desk at the hotel to make sure Alice and Jasper have the honeymoon suite? Carli and I are paying for a few extra nights for them. It's the least we could do considering we're the bride's parents."

"I thought they were going somewhere for their honeymoon?" I looked at her quizzically. Alice had been boasting about getting a tan that wasn't bought every time she looked at a chick at the mall that looked orange.

"She decided not to. They're gonna wait until the baby's old enough to stay with us or Jaspers parents. She's too afraid to fly, right now."

I gave her a weird look. "Something I should know?"

She shrugged. "I think she had a vision; she won't say. She really hasn't been having any since she got pregnant."

"She's never been wrong ever since I've known her," I said as I glanced up at her. "Plus, have you ever questioned her visions before?"

She shook her head. "No and I'm not about to." She stood from the table then leaned over to give me a hug. "I'm gonna go find my son so I can kiss my granddaughter."

"Okay; we'll let you know when we're headed out." She kissed the top of my head.

"Alrighty," she replied as she made her way to the door. "Love you!"

"Love you, too."

I finished up the last few paragraphs and saved my document. I hadn't felt good the last few days and that was why we were getting a late start leaving. My stomach was messing with me and I didn't want to be too far from the toilet. Wasn't diarrhea the best thing in the world? Thankfully, I hadn't had to make a mad dash to the bathroom in over two hours. Meds were even better.

I shut my laptop down and put it away in my bag. My report wasn't due until the following Monday and I was nearly done with it. It could be done already, but that was something I wanted to use my brains on; not magic.

There were snacks packed for Arlo for our drive down. It was only going to take a couple of hours or less, but we wanted to make sure she was satisfied the whole trip. We hoped she'd pass out on the way, but with the energy running through her, she'd probably pass out as soon as we got there; she loved car rides. Especially with the windows open.

My phone rang and when I went to answer it, I didn't recognize the number. I usually didn't answer those calls, but something told me I should. "Hello."

"Hey, Bell, it's Anthony."

He'd taken to calling me Bell. I didn't mind as long as he never called me 'sweet girl' like he used to. That would totally freak me out.

"Hey," I responded.

"I hope you don't mind, but I got your number from Emmett. I just wanted to double check with you to see if it were cool that I tag along? I've already talked to Alice and she said it was okay, reluctantly, but I wanted to make sure it wouldn't mess things up for you."

I took a deep breath before I replied. "I don't mind." And I didn't. It wasn't my wedding he was going to and if Alice was okay with it, then who was I to deny him going. "You'll be staying with Emmett?"

"Yeah," he said. "And thanks."

"You don't need to thank me."

"I do. I wouldn't go if it was going to freak you out or something. I'm really trying." I heard him sigh. "I have a lot to make up for."

He really was trying. "One day at a time."

"I know and it means a lot to me that you're giving me a chance," he said. "I owe my life to you."

"You don't." I closed my eyes. I didn't want to talk to him on the phone about this. "Look, let's just go and have a good time. Just don't push me too much on the friendship, okay? That's all I ask."

"Anything," he said. "I'd do any..."

I cut him off. "Stop; don't even say it."

"Okay," he agreed. "Just know that I mean what I say from now on. I'll prove to everyone that I've changed."

I shook my head even though he couldn't see me. "Do it for yourself," I said as I slipped my shoes on and watched as my husband came through the door with our daughter over his shoulder. "Look, I gotta go. Edward just walked in with Arlo; we're about to head down to the hotel."

"Okay, Bell; I'll see you there," he said then ended our call.

"Who was that?" Edward asked as he slid Arlo from over his shoulder. He rested her on his hip then stepped over to me and pressed a kiss on the edge of my mouth.

"Anthony," I replied as I took Arlo from him. "He wanted to make sure I was okay with him going to the wedding."

"And he couldn't have asked two days ago when we saw him?" He kicked his flip flops off by the door before he pulled his t-shirt off. "I need to shower real quick."

"I have no clue why he didn't ask then; I didn't ask him." I put Arlo in her pack n' play, made sure she had a toy then followed my husband to the bathroom where I watched him slip his jogging pants and boxers off. He stuffed them in the hamper before he reached in and started the shower. If Arlo wasn't awake, I'd join him; he was so damn sexy that I could barely control myself around him lately.

He'd lost some weight when he was in a coma. It wasn't much and he was slowly getting back to normal. His sexual stamina was indescribable, that was for sure. We were having sex just about every day since he got his energy back. We didn't have time for any hanky panky before we left, so I tucked my dirty thoughts away until a later time.

I watched him as he stepped into the shower and started soaping himself up. As soon as he rubbed between his legs, my thoughts came rushing right back. I wondered if I could give him a blow job before we left. I felt so damn lucky to be his wife; I knew there were tons of girls out there that envied me.

They could have Anthony for all I cared. Him and Edward looked like twins and as far as everyone else was concerned that didn't know our situation, they could think what they wanted to.

"Why are you watching me?" He asked, snapping me out of my fog.

I shrugged and stepped back into the living room to check on Arlo real quick. She was pressing buttons on her little keyboard that her Nana had gotten her for Christmas. Then I went back into the bathroom where I opened the door to the shower and beckoned my husband to step closer to me. "I want you in my mouth before we leave."

His dick jumped at my words and a smile spread across his face. "I won't say no to that."

It didn't take long before he was releasing into my mouth.

"Thank you," he said, pulling his cock from my mouth, but not before I licked the head clean of any leftovers. "I owe you one."

I stood up, feeling my knees pop in the process. "Oh, I know I'll be getting mine later."

He grabbed the back of my neck before I walked away and kissed me. I opened my mouth to catch his tongue and gave it one good suck just like I did his cock.

I finally pulled away. "We better stop before we get too carried away."

He pecked my lips one last time, reached down and tweaked one of my nipples. "Later; I'll hold you to that."

I smiled and sashayed out of the bathroom, giving my ass a little shake on the way. "I love you," I called over my shoulder. "Now hurry; we gotta get on the road. We have to be checked in by seven."

Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to get into each other's pants that night. Arlo decided she didn't want to sleep. She cried for over an hour before we realized she was running a fever. Marcus and Claire had arrived shortly after we did, so they came to give Arlo a checkup. I was so thankful for them. Him being a doctor and Claire being a nurse was a gift.

They diagnosed Arlo with teething and she was developing an ear infection. She hadn't been sick like this before and I was beside myself wondering what I could have done different to prevent her ear infection. Claire calmed me by explaining that there wasn't anything I could have done. It could have been from the wind while we walked down by the beach or any number of things, so Claire made up an herbal oil to put in her ear and prescribed an antibiotic. There was a twenty-four hour pharmacy near the hotel, so Edward ran out to get he meds and some ibuprofen.

We were finally able to get her to sleep by one in the morning. After that, we were too tired to even touch each other.

The next morning, we were literally dragging our asses trying to wake up. The one dose of oil to Arlo's ear had made a difference and she wasn't so cranky when she finally woke up. We actually got to sleep in an extra hour.

Edward ordered room service for breakfast before we headed out for the day. There were a few things we needed to pick up and drop off at the gardens. Alice and Jasper were arriving by noon, so we all agreed to meet in the hotel restaurant for lunch. My mom and Phil were due to arrive later because she had some business to take care of before they left. Some kind of video conference call she had with her vice president, so to speak.

Alice wasn't spending the night away from her groom at all. She didn't care about all that mumbo jumbo about seeing the bride before the wedding. She didn't believe in it anyway. She said that there wasn't anything that would tear them apart...no matter what and a stupid tradition like that wasn't gonna hold her back.

I held my hands up, relenting; I wasn't about to waste my breath to try and convince her otherwise.

By noon, I was completely exhausted. I wanted to take a nap, but we still had a few more things to take care of before we could call it a day. When we walked up to the entrance to the restaurant, there was a huge crowd of people waiting to get in. And the funny thing about it was, everyone was here for the Whitlock wedding. The staff was having to move a lot of tables around so we could sit together. They placed us in the banquet room away from the rest of the customers because I was pretty sure we'd all be the loudest group of them all.

I spotted Anthony sitting by Marcus and Claire. He gave me a small wave as I scanned the room. I gave him a wave back, smiled and I averted my eyes to the rest of the crowd. There were so many people in attendance; it was practically the whole family. Even Jaspers parents and grandparents were among us.

My dad was beaming as Sue showed off her engagement ring, but what caught my attention more than anything, was Emmett sitting with a very beautiful blond girl. If I didn't know any better, his smile was brightening up the room. I hadn't been aware that he'd even met someone. He probably wanted to play it safe before he jumped the gun and introduced her. That made my heart sing.

Evan was also here. He was with the girl he'd been dating for the last few months. We didn't see much of him that often. He'd come by his parents every once in a while for dinner then he was gone again. He was still playing baseball and doing pretty good from what I understood.

I turned to Edward. "What's Evan's girlfriends name?"

He glanced over toward his brother and made a face. "I don't remember." He kissed my cheek then whispered in my ear, "Don't tell him that, though; he'd kick my ass."

I giggled. "I don't remember, either. I'm just glad he looks happy after what Rosalie did to him."

"Me, too," he said. "Emmett's got a new girl." He picked up his tumbler of an amber liquid which I was sure was bourbon. He'd taken to having a drink every once in a while ever since he'd been in a coma. Thankfully he laid off the cigarettes. I hated the way they made him smell.

"What're you drinking?" I took the glass from him and sniffed. "Where did you get that?"

He gave me a devious smile. "Anthony got it for me." I gave him a dumbfounded look. "Is that a problem?"

"Are you making a habit of it?" From what I was told, he'd taking to drinking a lot when Anthony had taken me. It was strange seeing him drink the way he was.

I set the glass back down before picking up my own drink. I was having a Mimosa that Esme had ordered me since she'd ordered herself one.

Edward put his lips to my ear and blew warm air against my lobe. "No; I just like a drink once in a while." Then he sucked my earlobe between his lips and gave it a nibble with his teeth.

Before I could get the drink to my mouth, Alice yelled at me, and smacked my hand. "Don't drink that," she scolded. "If I can't have one then neither can you."

"I can drink whatever I want," I said defiantly, reaching for my drink, again.

"Just don't," she said in a whisper as she leaned closer to my ear. "You're pregnant."

I jerked my head back and gave her an incredulous look. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," she said as she pushed my drink away. "Get water or juice; not that."

"Alice," I warned before she put her fingers to her mouth pretending she was zipping them up. "I'm not pregnant," I whispered back to her.

She gave me a knowing look as she tapped her temple signaling that she had a vision about it. "Do you even need to ask?"

"I thought your visions were shit, right now?" I slumped down in my chair. I wasn't upset about being possibly pregnant, just dubious as to when I could have...

I stopped myself from even thinking any further. I knew exactly why I could've gotten pregnant and it was when Edward was in a coma. I had missed nearly an entire pack of my birth control because they were the farthest from my mind as my husband lay comatose. I had only, just recently, as in the Sunday we celebrated Christmas, started taking them again and didn't think about using condoms or having Edward pull out. I hadn't given them time to get back in my system to work properly. I probably got pregnant the first time Edward and I had sex after he woke up. That'd only been about a month and a half ago, so I couldn't be any more than four to five weeks pregnant; eight at the most. I didn't even realize I missed a period because they were only coming sporadically because I was still breastfeeding Arlo. When I had missed my first two periods after Arlo was born, my doctor explained that it was normal and called it lactational amenorrhea; something more or less to do with my hormones.

Just as Arlo turned four months old, I got my first period after she was born. I'd only menstruated one other time after that and I hadn't had one since. I didn't think anything of it because of breastfeeding and the pill the doctor had put me on. I had explained to her that my husband was very insatiable, so that was the reason for the pill when I went in for my six week check-up.

I glanced up at Alice and gave her a look. "Didn't you hear me?" I shook my head. " I said, they're coming back more and more lately. I won't say anything; promise," she said crossing her heart. "It's all on you sister in-law."

The room was rumbling with everyone's conversations and laughter. Emmett could be heard above all the voices as he laughed at something that was said. I tuned them all out as I realized I needed the bathroom.

I excused myself telling Edward I had to pee and exited the table. Arlo was passing from person to person sucking up all the attention she could get, so I knew she was in good hands. I was surprised she wasn't attached to her daddy's neck.

Surprisingly, the bathroom was empty, so I relieved myself then washed my hands. I stared at myself in the mirror a few minutes before I opened the door to leave. Anthony was just walking up to the men's room as I walked out. "Hey," he said. "You okay? You look kind of..."

He trailed off just as he raised his brows. "Never mind; I guess I know why."

"Why what?" I asked sounding snarky, wondering what he knew that I didn't.

He gave me sad a smile as he pointed to his ear. "Sonic hearing; remember?"

I had to think for a few seconds before it dawned on me what he was saying. "No one knows. I just found out myself; Alice had a vision."

He nodded. "I guess congratulations are in order?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Thank you; I guess. You're not gonna flip out and kidnap me are you? 'Cause if you are, at least give me a head start to get home and pack a bag first."

I was trying to joke with him, but his eyes grew wide as if he took offence to what I said. "Bell, I don't..."

"I'm joking," I said laughing at him and playfully punching his arm. "Lighten up; I'm trying to." He still looked at me unbelievably. "Too soon?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah; I'm not there yet and I'm not sure I ever will be."

"We're working on it." I wasn't sure what possessed me to do what I did next, but I reached up and hugged him. "You'll figure it all out."

He stood as still as a statue as I hugged him. It felt weird, but it was cracking the ice just a tad.

I stepped back from him and pointed to the banquet room we came from. "I better get back before they send the Calvary looking for me."

We parted ways as I made my way back to my table and just as I was sitting down, Emmett came walking up with his date. Edward and I turned just as he touched my shoulder. "Hey, B."

Edward stood from the table so we could get a proper look at the girl. I reached up and hugged him and kissed his cheek. "And who's the hot chick on your arm?"

Emmett and Edward shook hands like they hadn't seen each other in days. "I want to introduce you to Rosemarie."

My brows rose as my eyes grew wide. Emmett gave me the look to keep my mouth shut. It had to be a coincidence between Rosalie and Rosemarie. Too weird if you asked me.

I shook her hand and smiled. "It's nice to meet you." I slid my arm around Edwards waist. "This is my husband Edward."

She seemed a little shy as we chatted for a few minutes. They had actually only been dating for a couple of weeks. Another Alice interception. She'd seen Emmett with her and pushed him in the right direction. She was a parts driver for a company that Carlisle ordered from. She was making a delivery on the day that Emmett was working in the shop and he signed for the parts. "Are you and…" she turned to look around the room. "There's another guy here that looks just like you."

So, when she was back the next day, that's when they exchanged numbers and been with each other since.

"Yeah, we get that a lot," Edward answered.

She just gave him a slight nod with agreement.

I had a good feeling about her.

Everything was definitely on the up and up.

* * *

 **I had to do it. I had to make Emmett's new girl with a name close to Rosalie, so Rosemarie it is.**

 **We're almost done. TWO more to go.**

 **RTB**


	56. Chapter 56

**There's only one left.**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns most of the characters I borrowed. I own all the mistakes.**

 **3/4/2018**

* * *

 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 56**

 **EPOV**

* * *

It was the day of my sister's wedding and I was in a fog as I sat and thought back to all the stuff that's happened over the last two years. I met Bella, we started dating, she got pregnant, we got married, she was kidnapped, gave birth to our daughter...I could go on and on, but that was our life and half of it was still hard to believe.

"Dude," Jasper said as he snapped his fingers in front of my face. "Where are you?"

"Sorry," I focused on what he was saying. "Just thinking."

"Can you help me with this?" He was trying to get his tie straight. Thankfully Alice wasn't making him wear a tuxedo; none of the men were. She wasn't even wearing white.

I reached up and started to adjust his tie. "I can't believe you're about to marry my sister."

He smiled and straightened his posture. "I can't believe it, either. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me. And I'm gonna be a dad. Can you believe that shit?"

I nodded considering as well as I knew my sister. "I'm just happy for ya, bro. She'll be all yours to handle from now on."

My mom and dad had taken Arlo the night before so Bella and I could get some rest. She'd been a handful with the ear infection and teething. We'd made love and just as we finished, she dropped the bomb that she was pregnant. She explained that Alice had told her and that it was because she'd stopped taking her pill, not intentionally, when I was in a coma.

I didn't care, though. She was giving me another part of her and when she realized I was happy about the new baby, she straddled me and went for round two.

Jasper clapped me on the back just as I finished with is tie. "You okay, though? I mean, after being laid up for so long."

"I'm good; better than good." I looked down at my shoes that were shining from the overhead lights. "It was weird, though."

"About being in another world? Or, what'd you call it? In-between world?"

"Yeah," I replied, giving him a small smile. "It was like I was awake, but there was only me and Anthony in that world."

Jasper was trying to get his flower pinned to the lapel of his jacket. "Is this damn thing necessary?"

"It's not even supposed to go there," I said and took the flower from him and began to pin it to the pocket area of his jacket. "There; you're done."

"So, is that why you're so chummy with him now?" Jasper asked bringing us back to the original subject of our conversation. "I was surprised Alice said he could come; I thought she hated his guts."

"We had some heated conversations, that's for sure. He pretty much helped me understand what happened during his life and why he acted the way he did. When Arlo was born, that fucked him up pretty bad. He was pretty damn positive that Bella was having a boy and wanted to get rid of another future Warlock."

"Yeah, he was definitely screwed in the head," he said as he picked up his drink and took a swig. We were having a little bourbon before we had to be at the gardens. It was loosening us up some; Bella would kick my ass because I told her it wasn't becoming a habit.

"He's not such a bad guy. I've actually hung out with him since we've been home. Bella even tried to joke with him yesterday and he almost cried."

Jasper laughed. "I can't imagine what she said."

I hadn't told him yet that Bella was pregnant, so what I said next, I was sure he'd be really surprised, so I told him about their encounter at the bathrooms the day before.

He almost spit his drink out. "Your wife has no filter." Then he put his drink down. "Wait, is she pregnant?" I smiled nice and big for him; teeth and all. "Hell yeah!" He yelled as he pulled me into a hug. "Congrats, man."

"Thanks: I love me some pregnant Bella. She's a freak in the sheets."

We were laughing just as Jaspers dad walked in the room. Emmett, and the rest of the men from our group were right behind him. There was a room full of testosterone.

Jaspers dad had a bottle and some shot glasses in his hand. "We're gonna be blitzed by the time we get there." I looked over to Jasper. "We're dead men."

The buzz we had going by the time we got to the gardens was mild. I couldn't stop thinking about getting Bella back to our room and having my wicked way with her. That's all I've been thinking about lately and I wondered if she was putting her little voodoo spell on my libido, again.

We still had another hour to go once we got to the gardens, so I tracked my wife down to see how things were going. Once I stepped into the room, I wanted to go right back out. Alice was having a crying fit as my mom and Renee worked on her dress as Claire stood back and watched with her arms crossed over her chest. I wasn't sure what was going on and I didn't think I wanted to know.

Bella walked up to me and raised up on her tip toes to kiss me. "You've been drinking."

"Just a couple," I said as I slipped my hands around her waist. "Do you have panties on under that dress?"

She smacked my chest. "Yes," she said then kissed me again. "You're a pervert."

I gave her ass a little pinch. "You love me as a pervert."

"Hey you two. No hanky panky, right now." That was my mother giving us a demanding look. "As much as you two can't keep your hands off each other, I'm surprised Bella isn't pregnant, again."

We gave each other a look of _'If they only knew_ '. Very limited people knew about the new baby on the way. We agreed to wait until we got home and Bella had her first appointment. We wanted the sex of the baby to be a surprise and Bella made sure she told Alice not to spill the beans to anyone.

"Watch out, let a pro handle this," Claire said as she stepped over to the other two women. She waved her hand over Alice's dress and voila, it fit the way she wanted it to. "I'm surprised you two didn't think of that already," she said looking between Renee and my mom. "Rookies."

Mom and Renee looked at each other with raised brows. "I guess she showed us," Renee said just as they broke out into laughter.

Alice grabbed Claire into a hug. "Thank you. My belly decided to pop out just a little over night. I thought I was doomed."

"Not with me around," Claire said. "Now, what's next?" She glanced around the room. "Edward, go check on the men. We're about ready to get this thing going."

I kissed my wife. "Yes, ma'am." Then I left the room.

I spotted Anthony sitting off to the side away from everyone else. He had a glass in his hand twirling it as he watched the liquid swish around. "Being a loner?" I asked as I took the seat next to him.

"Eh...just staying out of the way." He took a sip of his drink. "Congrats, by the way."

"What for?" I propped my elbows on my knees and looked up at him.

"When I passed Bell in the hall yesterday by the bathrooms. I heard the baby's heartbeat."

My eyes grew wide with his statement. "That's uh..." I wasn't sure what to say. "Thanks. No one knows yet."

"She told me. I won't say anything. I just want her happy and you, too." He took a gulp of his drink. He'd been drinking a lot lately and I wondered if it was because he wasn't drinking as much blood as he used to.

"What's on your mind?" I asked sincerely wanting to know if maybe I could help him out in some way.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not used to this. It's weird being around happy people all the time. Emmett hasn't been home much the last couple of weeks because of his new girl."

"She seems nice," I stated as I leaned back in my chair. "Has she stayed over at your place at all?"

"Nah..." he replied. "He stays at her place, mostly."

I clapped him on the back. "You'll meet someone." Then I stood up. "C'mon, bro. Let's go mingle." I didn't want to get into the conversation of true loves with him. Especially today at Alice's wedding. I just wanted to get it over with and back to the hotel so I could ravage my wife.

The wedding turned out just the way Alice wanted. My dad cried as he released her hand over to her new husband. She was his only daughter and it tore at his heart a little that she was a grown woman who was now married with a baby on the way.

Jaspers parents had gifted them the house they were living in. Alice was beside herself and cried the entire time they opened gifts. Me and Bella just gave them the gift of a babysitter for a night or two once the baby got older.

The three babies that were at the wedding were doing little bouncy dances in the middle of the dance floor together. Renee, Phil, Charlie and Sue were being quite entertained by them. They looked so damn cute in their fancy clothes.

Bella and I danced a few slow songs and whispered about our impending sexy times later in our room. We were only staying one more night before we headed back to reality. I was due back to work the next week; dreading being away from Bella and Arlo for the whole day. My dad understood my dilemma, ruffled my hair then walked away telling me he'd see me at work on Monday. I thanked him for the sincerity.

Toward the end of the evening, I spotted Anthony tap Bella on the shoulder. They exchanged a couple of words before she nodded then followed him to the dance floor. She was actually dancing with him. I wasn't too surprised because I knew he was trying his hardest to make things right. He was probably talking her ear off about how sorry he was. You could only tell my wife you were sorry so many times before she snapped. Too many apologies about the same thing tended to irritate her. I've definitely learned my lesson since we've been together.

I watched as she hugged him before she walked off the floor. He appeared satisfied with his dance with her and walked off with his head held high. I was sure Bella would tell me about it later.

I made my way over to my sister and new brother in-law. They were happily stuffing each other's faces with some of the three tier cake that was absolutely delicious. I pulled a chair up and sat in front of their table. "I guess I don't need to cover your car in condoms," I said playfully and jumped back as Alice tried to smack me.

"Speak for yourself, jackass," Alice said as she flipped some icing at me. It landed on my cheek causing Jasper to laugh. "I think you're the one that needs to learn how to use condoms."

"Nah..." I replied as I slumped back in my seat after wiping the icing from my face. "I think I kinda like my wife pregnant."

"Ha!" Alice barked. "Does your wife know this?"

I wiggled my fingers toward the flowers on the table and made the pedals fly off at her. "I guess we'll find out after the newest Cullen arrives."

I stood from the table and walked around to hug my sister. She stepped away from the table and pulled me into her arms. "I love you, big brother. Thanks for everything you do."

"I love you, too." Alice pulled away and stepped back so I could hug my new brother in-law. "I love you, too, man. Congrats."

"Thanks, bro," Jasper said then clapped me on the back. "You, too, about the baby."

I put my pointer finger over my lips indicating to him that not everyone knew, yet. "We're waiting a little longer."

Alice smiled and clapped her hands. "I can't wait. Our babies are gonna be so close."

"Okay, well, I'm off to find my wife and daughter. I don't know about you, but this daddy needs to chill for a while." I waved over my shoulder as I walked over. "See ya later."

"Later," they both called out to me.

I searched around for Bella, spotting her next to her dad with Arlo. She was bouncing off her Pop-pops lap and clapping. Charlie had the biggest smile on his face as Sue playfully poked Arlo in the belly. They looked happy and that made me happy.

I stopped by and told Bella I was about ready to leave. She agreed and started making her rounds to say goodnight to everyone. The next wedding would be Charlie and Sue, but not for a couple of more months. Sue wasn't concerned about whether or not she was showing.

As I walked by Anthony, he appeared happy and content as he talked to one of the servers. She was pretty cute, but I was sure he was just making conversation.

I hugged Renee and kissed the twins before I shook Phil's hand then made my way around telling everyone bye.

We made it back to the hotel with a sleeping Arlo. I just wanted to climb in bed and sleep, but my wife reminded me of our tryst we planned. We were lucky Arlo was sleeping in her pack n' play because as much as the bed was bouncing, I was sure she would have woke up. Bella rode me hard and slow. I would never get tired of being inside her.

Once we got home the next day, the weeks and months started flying by. Our new baby was surprisingly due on Bella's birthday. That would be a great 19th birthday present.

Charlie and Sue had a simple wedding. They got married in their living room with Marcus officiating. They were having a baby boy and Bella was beside herself, yet again, about having another sibling.

Alice was due any day and we were all waiting with bated breath for our phones to ring. Her bag was packed and in the car ready to go. Jasper was thankful he didn't work too far from home so he could get to her in time to make it to the hospital.

We were going a different route when Bella goes into labor, this time. She's decided to have a water birth. Claire and Marcus were her medical personnel to assist her. They were highly trained and considering they both helped with Arlo's birth, Bella wanted them there, again, along with my mom and her mom. We expected a room full as our next baby is born.

Everyone was back to their everyday lives. Going to work, coming home to their spouses, having dinner and so on. Bella finished one course of classes online and was on to the next. She had a few more to go before she could get any kind of degree. Alice, on the other hand, she finished her senior year on the virtual website through the high school. Mom and dad were proud of her, regardless.

As far as everyone else. We hadn't seen Jake around too much because he'd graduated high school and left as soon as he got his diploma to join the special forces part of the police force. He'd be working in the same department as Charlie once he graduated from boot camp. I think he'd do perfect considering he was a shifter. With Charlie as his teacher, the sky's the limit for him. I wished him the best of luck.

Emmett and Rosemarie, whom we've started calling Roe, have been going strong. Emmett still lived with Anthony for the time being. He wanted to give his relationship with Roe a little longer before he made different living arrangements.

Anthony, on the other hand, was still seeing a therapist and dealing with his issues a lot better than he had been. He's lightened up quite a bit and can now take a joke when Bella pokes fun at him. He actually decided to stay single for a while so he could get his life together. He's been completely celibate, too. That's what we joke with him about a lot and he takes it all like a champ.

He's blended in with the family pretty well and when we all hang out on the boardwalk or go out to dinner as a group, we get a lot of attention from more girls than we want. We definitely look like we're twins. My hair's lighter and our attitudes are different, but as far as our DNA we're pretty much perfectly matched as if we were born in the same era.

As many crimes that he's committed over his lifetime should get him a death sentence, but he's, hopefully, destroyed the evil switch in his head to keep the good switch on for the better part of himself. He really has changed, but we all still have that bad part of him stuck in the back of our heads. He slips into a little depression, now and then, but the more we include him in plans or invite him to family functions, he jumps back quicker than past times. I never want to imagine what goes on through his head and it sucked that Bella couldn't break through and listen. Even if she could, she wouldn't.

We still see Mr. Worley together on the weekends and we've advanced quite well with our learning. Our experiments on each other reminds me a lot of the Weasly twins in Harry Potter. Bella gets so frustrated with us sometimes because we're always messing around. I'd never say we were the best of friends, but we've become good friends. I've put our past completely behind me especially the shit he did to Bella. He still feels like he has a lot to make up for and time will tell.

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 **Not what you expected, I'm sure, but I love to make the bad guys eventually look good.**

 **RTB**


	57. Chapter 57

**We have come to the end. It's been a great journey and I love the response I've gotten since I started posting. Thank you to everyone that has read about these two and all the reviews that were left for me. It's astonishing and it's the reason I love to write.**

 **I hope everyone stays around and gives my next story a chance. I'll start posting next weekend. (3/9/2018) If not, definitely 3/10/2018.**

 **It's called _Black Tears_.**

 **No copy right infringement is intended. SM owns most of the characters I borrowed. All mistakes are mine.**

 **3/4/2018**

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 **Ghostly Double**

 **Chapter 57**

 **Epilogue**

 **BPOV**

 **5 Years Later**

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"You CAN NOT expect me to do this; It's outrageous!" Alice exclaimed as she looked over the plans for Arlo's dance recital tutu. She just didn't want to add two extra layers of fluff. It was more than what she wanted to do.

I sat with my arms crossed over my chest because I was currently on bed-rest. I could walk to use the bathroom, shower and sit on the couch. Otherwise, I had to be waited on hand and foot. "First off, it isn't much different than Lyna's. You just gotta add a little extra..."

"Extra, smextra. Just let me do it the same as Lyna's. They'll just be different colors and if I don't make one for Bailey, she's gonna throw a fit." She was sitting on the coffee table in front of me. Her tiny baby bump barely visible as she sat with her legs crossed. She was currently five months pregnant with her second child while I was near my due date with my third. Edward swears we're having another girl, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him. Plus, I cheated and had the ultrasound tech write it down and slip it to me when Edward wasn't watching.

Arlo was on the brink of turning six years old. Then there's Bailey, mine and Edward's second daughter who is turning five in a few months and Alice's daughter, Allyna, whom we call Lyna, just had her fifth birthday. Arlo and Lyna take dance classes and were having their first recital in less than a week and their tutu's needed to be sewn together. It wasn't hard to add a little extra to Arlo's, only because she's in the older class, but Alice was trying to cut corners and make them the same. In the meantime, Bailey just wants to the tutu. She's more tomboy than anything, but likes her dresses as much as the other two girls.

"One more layer and that's it. My fingers are already about to fall off." Then her eyes widened. "Better yet..." She snapped her fingers and all of a sudden Arlo's tutu appeared the way she wanted it along with the other two magically put together. "I don't know why I keep putting myself through so much torture. I should've done that in the first place."

"It's because you try to appear as much a mundane as any other human being." I took the tutu from her and looked it over. "It's perfect."

I used my magic as much as I possibly could, but not if I could get someone else to do it first. "You could have done this the whole time!" She snatched the tutu back from me. "You lazy bitch. I can't believe you."

I waved my hand at her. "Whatever." Then I looked up as Bailey came running into the living room. "Bailey, Aunt Alice has your tutu for you."

"I wanted purple," she whined. "Let Lyna have that one."

We loved the fact that all of our children had perfect speech and learned as quickly as they did. They were all being homeschooled until they knew how to control their magic a lot better than they do now. Every time we turned around, there'd be a room full of stuffed animals or small plastic balls they could jump into. There wasn't a real punishment for them, so we had to teach them how to fix what they did. There'd been a few times Arlo caused her sister or cousin to have a pigs tail or cat ears and a tail. Those times were freaky, to say the least. That's also when one of the more advanced adults had to fix the problem. We laugh about it every once in a while, now.

Alice stood up and turned to Bailey. "Stop being so picky." She waved her hand only to make Bailey magically appear in a purple tutu. "There...is that what you wanted?"

Bailey jumped up and down. "Yes!" She squealed. "Thank you," she yelled and ran from the room.

"The smallest things make them happy. Can you imagine when they become teenagers?"

"Uh...no. That's not even on my radar, but I know it's coming before we know it."

Later that evening, we were all perched in the front row of the dance studio where the girls took their dance lessons. Emmett with Rosemarie and her growing belly. She was pregnant with their first baby that was due two months later than mine and Edwards third. Marcus and Claire were excited to become grandparents for the first time.

Anthony sat next to Emmett and Rosemarie with his therapist that he started dating nearly six months after he met with her. She recommended him to a different colleague when he admitted he had feelings for her only to be surprised that she felt the same way. He swears he didn't use any kind of compulsion to get her to date him. They seem pretty serious, and he looks extremely happy to have her in his life. Kelly Peterson definitely turned Anthony's life around for the better and she knows all about him being a vampire. She claims it makes him even sexier than he already is. I had to roll my eyes when I heard that.

My dad and Sue sat with my two little brothers Nathan and Caleb. Nathan was older by two years making him a month shy of five years old. He was born a month after Allyna.

Jackson and Piper sat quietly, next to my mom and Phil, as they waited for their niece to come dancing out on the stage. My mom was also pregnant, again, with a little girl. It was only one baby this time; three months behind me. It seemed like everyone was popping out babies one right after the other.

That included Evan and now wife, Rebecca. She's newly pregnant, though. Only eight to ten weeks along. He swears they're only having one, but I had different visions for them only because I could see it dancing through Becca's head. I let my veil slip up now and then just to take a peek. I regretted most of the time because of what I saw. It grossed me out, needless to say. Damn people and their dirty minds.

Carlisle and Esme sat with smiles on their face as they waited for their granddaughters to take the stage. Lyna's group was going on first then the older group. Jacob made sure he had his phone up and ready to start recording. He had a new woman in his life about every few months. It was his business how he wanted to live, but considering he's my adopted brother, I had to give him grief every chance I got.

I started squirming in my seat when I felt a sharp twinge run across my stomach. "You okay?" Edward asked.

"Just Braxton hicks. You'd think I'd be used to these feelings after two pregnancies." I rubbed my hand over our son. I loved the fact that Edward was going to get the surprise of a lifetime as soon as we welcome our son into this world.

Edward placed his hand over mine. "Just another daddy's girl," he says as he rubs across my knuckles. "I'll have her spoiled just like her sisters."

"Yeah, I'm sure you will."

The audience went wild when the curtain came up to reveal a line of little girls along the stage. The music started and the dancing began. They were all completely adorable as they twirled and skipped across the stage.

Then another pain shot through me. I tensed up and counted until the pain subsided. I got to seven before it went away. Edward didn't notice that time.

That was until I felt the pop and gush of water flood the chair I was sitting in. "Um...Edward?"

He had his eyes trained on our niece as she jumped and spun around the other girls. "What's up?" He asked without looking at me.

"My water just broke." His eyes jerked to mine. "Unless I just pissed all over myself, but I highly doubt that considering..." I trialed off as another pain paralyzed me.

Marcus and Claire had heard what I whispered to my husband and looked over at us. I nodded to let them know it was time. "I'll run backstage and let Arlo's teacher know that we need to leave. I'm sure Alice'll get her to the house as soon as she can. And Jake's recording it."

"Marcus?" He was at my side without causing a scene. "It's time to get home to the tub."

I was having a home birth in our Jacuzzi tub. Edward would be sitting behind me to help me push. There wouldn't be any drugs involved and haven't been since I gave birth to Arlo without any kind of medication. I almost changed my mind when I was in labor for fourteen hours with Bailey. I sure as hell hope this little guy doesn't take that long.

As soon as we made it outside, Claire and Marcus took off like a bat out of hell so they could get there first and get the tub filled. It had to be at a certain temperature before I sat down in it. Luckily, the house was only fifteen minutes away.

We alerted who needed to know and made sure Arlo was brought to the house as soon as her number was done. She wanted to be there when her baby brother was born. No, she didn't know. Not that I know of. I had a feeling she had the same mind reading capability that I had, but I wasn't quite sure yet. I hadn't come right out and asked her.

Edward decided to carry me to the house from the car. I hadn't ever realized how strong he was until he picked me up. I knew I had to weigh a ton, but he held me like I was light as a feather.

We headed straight to the bathroom where Claire had the water running. I planned to keep my sports bra on until after I gave birth. Just like the other two babies I had birthed, I planned to breastfeed. I hadn't had a problem with either of the girls and I was positive things would go smoothly with this little guy.

My husband had rushed into our walk-in closet to change into his board shorts. He was as comfortable as I was around Claire and Marcus. They were our family and they'd also delivered Bailey when she came along.

"How many contractions have you had since your water broke?" Claire was laying out freshly washed towels and wash clothes before she opened up her medical bag to start taking out the scissors, a yellow clip for the umbilical cord and a small hat for the baby's head.

Marcus was testing the water again, before I could get in.

It had only been thirty minutes since my water broke. "I've had five."

"They're closer than I thought they'd be." Claire took the bulb syringe that Marcus handed her before he grabbed more towels and laid them on a warming plate. We planned for me, Edward and the baby to get out of the water as soon as I delivered the placenta. I hoped I didn't need any stitches. Marcus told me that our little guy was slightly bigger than the girls when they were born. Bailey was only a pound heavier than Arlo at six pounds even.

I reached over and grasped the side of the tub when another contraction hit me. Another gush was water came rushing out as I tried not to bear down. I was starting to get the urge to push. "Get in," Marcus instructed.

Edward came rushing into the bathroom and slipped in the tub before me so I could ease between his legs so he could prop me up. "Are you gonna check me?"

Marcus pulled on some gloves even though I was in the water. He used them just as a precaution. "You're at eight, already."

"Oh, wow," I said excitedly. This was happening pretty quick. I hoped Arlo made it in time to see her baby brother be born. I wasn't worried about corrupting her by letting her witness her mother give birth. Edward and I felt it was a learning experience for her considering she'd have babies of her own one day.

Edward had his arms under mine and placed his hands on my stomach. "Looks like this little girl isn't waiting much longer."

"I'd say in less than an hour. You want me to call and see when Arlo's ETA is?" Claire had her phone at the ready and sent the text as soon as I nodded my head. She got an answer immediately. "She's just now going on stage. Alice is on her way with Lyna and your mom's bringing Arlo as soon as she's done. They had to calm her down because she noticed you guys weren't in the audience anymore."

"Awe..." I felt bad, but I also couldn't help it. "I hope she makes it."

"There'll be another time if she doesn't get here right away," Edward said as another contraction stabbed at me. He felt the tightness take over my stomach. "OOO...boy that was a strong one."

Boy was right, but he didn't know that. That was what excited me the most and the fact that our little guy wants to say hello a lot faster than I anticipated. "Speak for yourself, buddy. You don't have to push them out through a vagina you don't have. Just imagine pushing a walnut through your dick hole."

"No thanks." He tensed his legs up around my thighs like he was trying to cover up his junk. I was seriously surprised he wasn't hard, but then again, this was entirely a different situation. "Maybe in five or six more years?"

"Maybe," I grunted. "I really feel like I have to push." I was trying my hardest to wait for the go ahead, but the urge was getting stronger and stronger. "Claire! I have to push!"

"Okay, sweetheart. Marcus just checked you two minutes ago." She slipped on some gloves and reached into the water. "Well, I guess this baby doesn't wanna wait." Claire looked behind her at Marcus. "You ready for this? We're about to help another Cullen baby into this world."

"Bring it on," Marcus said as he slipped on a medical gown over the front of his clothes. Claire did the same thing. "Okay, Bella, we're ready when you are."

The moment I started to push, Edward started counting down in my ear. It wasn't loud, and it annoyed me, but I kept my cool as much as I could. My husband was only helping. "10..." Edward finished counting as I leaned back into him. "1...2...3...4..." I pushed as hard as I could. I wanted to wait for Arlo, but I couldn't hold it much longer.

By the time I started pushing for the fourth time, Arlo came running into the bathroom with Bailey. "We made it, Momma!"

I had just finished pushing and raised my hand to touch both of the girls' face. "I love you, girls. You ready for this?"

"We're ready!" Bailey said and bounced on her feet.

I bore down then it happened. "Hold it; the head is out." Marcus did something then..."Okay, one more big push and we'll have us a new baby."

I pushed as hard as I could and no sooner than Edward got to five, I felt a huge relief as our little baby came gushing out. Marcus grabbed a hold of the baby and held him up for Edward to see. "It's a boy!"

The girls jumped and hollered while clapping their hands while I felt the tears begin to fall from my eyes. I knew Edward was crying too, because I could feel the spasms from his chest as he sobbed. "A boy?" He cried. "We have a boy?"

Claire held the umbilical cord up for Edward to cut, but he didn't want to. He was too overwhelmed with the fact that our baby is a boy.

Marcus laid the baby down on my chest as soon as Claire had the cord cut. He was so beautiful as I looked down on him. "Hi, little man. I'm your momma and this is your daddy."

Edward reached his hand around and placed it on his head. "Hey, buddy." Then he kissed the side of my head. "Thank you for the surprise."

"You're welcome and Happy Birthday."

I looked up at our two daughters. "Arlo, Bailey, come say hello to your baby brother, Grayson Cooper."

It took a bit to get me situated into bed. Claire had to clear the bathroom from the audience because I did need stitches. Our little guy may look small, but he was big enough to tear me. He was a whopping nine pounds and two ounces. Just three pounds heavier than Bailey. I wondered why all my kids didn't weigh as much as Arlo at five pounds and four ounces.

I walked pretty funny, but who could blame me?

As soon as I was settled into bed with my girls on one side and Edward on the other, Marcus opened the door to let everyone in. The room filled with just about everyone from our entire family.

"All right, give us the deets, B. We're going crazy over here," Emmett demanded.

Edward couldn't help the smile on his face as he announced our baby boy.

"Everyone, we'd like you to meet Grayson Cooper Cullen; 9 lbs. 2 ozs. and 21 inches long."

The cheers from our family was priceless.

My husband looked up at the doorway to see Anthony standing back with his girlfriend, Kelly, and waved them in. They were smiling at each other with that look in their eyes. It makes me happy that Kelly knows that Anthony's a vampire, and that doesn't bother her one bit. He's earned her trust completely; something that took me a while to overcome. He's proven to my family that he's worth more than just a quick wave hello. He's the very link to my husband's life and vice versa. They keep each other alive and that's the perks of being a **Ghostly Double**.

 **THE END**

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 **LOVE you all.**

 **See you next weekend, and THANK YOU!**

 **RTB**


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